


Remember Me

by Rikkichi



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friends to Lovers, M/M, McHanzo Big Bang, Memory Loss, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 06:59:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 31,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14099907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikkichi/pseuds/Rikkichi
Summary: With his past gone, Hanzo can only think of one thing: tracking down the people who altered his mind and finding out just who he is.Luckily he has a friendly cowboy by his side to remind him of what's really important in his life.(Written for the McHanzo Big Bang)





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's finally finished! It feels like I spent forever on this fic. 
> 
> A couple quick notes: There are brief mentions of torture and a mental breakdown scene in one chapter, but I will give a warning at the beginning of that chapter. Additionally, since Hanzo has forgotten everything about himself, he goes by a fake name during this fic. I just wanted to assure you that it is Hanzo, even if the name is different.
> 
> Finally, the art is by RottenAdel over on tumblr!

As he slowly blinked himself into consciousness, he was greeted by a blinding overhead light, the stench of bleach, and sound of steady mechanical beeping.

His first thought was that he had to be in a hospital, possibly an emergency room of some sort. His mind was too murky to figure out why he immediately jumped to that thought, but he put that down to the fact that he must have been sleeping for a while. But then again, if this were a hospital, there would be nurses and doctors around, right? He heard no voices around him, no footsteps echoing through the rather bare room. He was utterly alone, his only company being the machinery he was currently attached to.

He moved to sit up, but found that he was restricted. A quick glance down to his right confirmed his suspicions: he was handcuffed to the table, and the weight on his left wrist told him that whoever had left him here had seen fit to double the security. Odd, given that there were no actual people around to supervise him. He would have thought that if he was dangerous enough to warrant handcuffs then he would be dangerous enough to warrant an armed guard.

Handcuffs weren't the only thing on his arm, though. As he was staring down at his right arm, trying to remember why in the world he would be handcuffed there in the first place, he noticed a bit of a mark on the underside of his forearm. He rotated his arm carefully, trying not to catch himself on the metal of the handcuffs, and soon he was able to see the full mark left there. It was 'EX-07' tattooed in bold, black lettering just below his wrist. A designation of some sort? He didn't remember getting that tattoo.

Now that he thought about it, though, he couldn't really recall how he ended up in this room. Or anything else, for that matter.

The memories were there, he was sure of it. But it felt like a fog had settled in on his brain, obscuring anything prior to his waking up just now behind an opaque wall that he just could not see through. Even basic facts, like his own name, were beyond his reach. No matter how hard he tried to push through, to grasp onto something, anything, it wouldn't work. The more he thought about it, the thicker the fog got.

That was really unsettling. Whatever drugs they had pumped into him had really mucked things up. Hopefully this was a temporary problem, he didn't want to think of the possibility that things would be like this forever.

He tested his bonds, trying to see just how much give the handcuffs had and if he could actually sit up without hurting himself. A little pull, then a stronger one. Finding the give to be satisfactory, he carefully moved to a half-sitting, half-leaning position. Very uncomfortable, but at least he could see the room better.

The room itself was mostly bare. There were a few pieces of equipment on the right side, most of which connected to the various tubes and wires that adorned his body. He recognized the heart monitor and the IV drip immediately, but some of the other equipment was unknown to him. To his left was a small table with a set of clean, unused surgical tools, some of which were rather frightening in appearance. Above his head was a large operating light, one that had been left on for some reason. It was bright enough to make him a bit warm, but not uncomfortably so. Near the door to the room- which, interestingly enough, was currently wide open- was a single chair, one that looked like it was designed for functionality rather than comfort. The entire room appeared to be sterile, and was likely an operating room of some sort.

Then there were footsteps. They were hard to hear at first- the beeping of the heart monitor covered up the sound- but as they drew closer he could hear them more clearly. Whoever it was, they were walking at a quick-yet-even pace. They were in a hurry, but they weren't moving erratically or anything. But as the footsteps came closer, he was able to hear a jingling sound along with them. Step-jingle, step-jingle, just like that. He frowned as he watched the door closely, hoping to catch sight of this person before they noticed he was awake. He may not have remembered how he got into that room, but anyone working at a place that wanted to chain him up like this was probably not an ally.

The footsteps stopped just as the person reached the open doorway. It was a man, and he looked every bit as ridiculous as he would have expected them to, based on the sound of the footsteps. The jingling was actually the sound of the spurs on this man's boots, which were just one part of this ridiculous outfit. The man also wore a hat, leather chaps, and a red cape of some sort. Everything about this man screamed 'unwashed cowboy hobo', and it made him frown. Why was there a cowboy in a medical building?

The cowboy stood at the doorway, regarding him for a moment. Clearly this man was evaluating him just as he had been doing. But before too long the cowboy nodded once, and then he threw out a cheeky grin as he tipped his hat. "Howdy," he said, acting as if that was a completely normal greeting in this day and age.

"…hello," EX-07 said after a short pause, and he found his voice to be raspy and his throat dry. Unsurprising, given that he had just been sleeping for an indeterminate amount of time.

"Sorry if I'm bein' a bit forward here," the cowboy said as he stepped into the room, heading right towards the bed EX-07 was laying in, "But we ain't got much time and I'm pretty sure you're not with Talon. Don't want you gettin' caught up in a mess of soldiers or anythin'."

"Soldiers?" EX-07 managed to choke that out, the dryness only slightly covering up the sudden concern there.

The cowboy was now at his side, inspecting the handcuffs that chained him to the gurney. "Yep. Funny thing, that. Guess I shouldn't've busted into their base." The cowboy chuckled to himself, and then he squeezed firmly on the handcuffs. The side clipped to the railing broke off, leaving the other cuff on EX-07's wrist but still freeing him to move about. It wasn't until the cowboy gave the same treatment to the other set of handcuffs that he noticed the glint of metal on the man's hand. A gauntlet of some sort, maybe?

But with his arms free, EX-07 lifted them up and inspected them, moving the cuffs slightly and rubbing at the skin underneath. The skin was dry there, as if it had been rubbed raw previously but had been given time to heal. There was no damage to the strange 'EX-07' mark on his right arm, and similarly the tattoo on his left was intact. The cuffs hadn't damaged either of them, apparently.

Wait. Another tattoo?

EX-07 looked at his left forearm, inspecting the tattoo that made its way all around it from his wrist to up past his elbow. His line of sight followed it, moving up until the tattoo disappeared under the sleeve of the medical gown he was wearing. How far did it go? It was quite beautiful, though. A pair of blue dragons snaked their way around his arm, seeming to dance across his skin up to his wrist. He could admire the beauty of it, but for some reason it made a sense of guilt and dread settle in his stomach. This tattoo didn't represent happy memories, EX-07 reasoned.

He had almost forgotten about the cowboy, up until he spoke up again. "As fancy as that bit o' ink is, we need to get a move on," the cowboy said, stepping back to give EX-07 room to climb out of bed. Which he did, but as soon as his feet hit the ground he found it difficult to stand. Pins and needles went shooting up through his feet, making him cringe as he tried to take a step. Just how long had he been in bed?

But the cowboy was right there, a hand at his back to steady him. "Easy there," he said, "We don't need you passin' out now. I could probably carry you out, but it'd be a bumpy ride."

"I can walk," EX-07 said dismissively, and he attempted a second step. And then a third. By the time he was at the door he had found his feet, and though the tingling remained he was able to steel himself against it and keep upright. That felt like the right thing to do: keep going, don't show weakness. He could do that.

They made it to the hall, but EX-07 had to stop there. Which way was out? There weren't any clear 'EXIT' signs anywhere, and with a fog settling over his mind any time he tried to dig up something useful in his memories he had no way of knowing which way to go. He would be as likely to run into those soldiers that the cowboy had warned him about as he would be to stumble upon the exit. So, he looked to the cowboy, raising an eyebrow as he gave him a look that said, 'what now'.

The cowboy simply pointed to the left. "Exit's that way, past the armory. You go first, I'll cover our backsides."

"How thoughtful of you," EX-07 said flatly. It was hard not to see the 'you go first and see if there's trouble that way' hidden in that statement. Still, he wanted to leave, so he just started down the hallway.

There were many doors in this hallway. Most were closed, but the few that were open told EX-07 all he needed to know about this place. Every room had a medical bed and several pieces of equipment in them, and they were all spotless, just as his room had been. Seeing so many rooms left him feeling unsettled, though he could not say why without his memories available to him. He decided not to say anything to the cowboy, and instead to just avoid those particular rooms.

It took maybe a minute tops to reach a particular open door, and when EX-07 peeked in he could see that he had found something a bit more useful than endless rooms full of beds and medical equipment. The tools in this room were decidedly more militaristic than medicinal, and the room was so well-stocked that several squads could raid it and still be unable to carry everything. EX-07 stole a moment to peek in, and he quickly decided that if he was going to be squaring off against an army that he wanted to be prepared at least. So, without warning, he stepped into the armory. If the cowboy was paying attention then he would (hopefully) just follow him in without question.

There were several options in both the clothing and weapon categories. Tactical gear, underclothes, heavy coats, you name it. EX-07 opted to swipe a pair of black pants and slip them on under the medical gown. No need to bare his ass to the world, he figured. He also slipped on some shoes that were slightly too small for him, and finally he traded the medical gown for a black t-shirt. Basic, but it's what he needed to not look like an escaped medical patient. His hair was still let down, and he felt the urge to tie it up, but there was nothing available to do that. It would have to wait until later.

By the time EX-07 was done dressing, the cowboy had finally entered the armory. "Feel all prettied up now," he asked with a grin.

The cowboy was summarily ignored by EX-07 as he instead turned his focus to the wide array of weapons laid out in front of him. Guns of all sorts, from small handguns to large rifles, and even a bazooka or two could be found in that room. He had no idea what weapon would be best, or even if he had any weapon training at all, but he knew he had to choose something. Going weaponless seemed like a bad idea, especially given that the cowboy was armed. He would just have to do his best to not be useless.

Soon his sight fell upon a large bow in a locked weapon cage. It was mostly silver, with some blue and gold accents, and it looked to be a compound bow of some sort. EX-07 had no memory of ever touching a weapon like that, but this bow was calling out to him. He needed it.

EX-07 looked back to the cowboy as he said, "Can you open this?"

The cowboy responded by using his metallic hand to punch a fist through the netting on the weapon cage. From there, he was able to unlock the door from the inside. Once he was done, he simply grinned at EX-07 as if it was no big deal whatsoever. "Easy as pie," he said, further cementing previous perceptions of him.

EX-07 didn't even give a 'thank you' for that, instead option to just move past the cowboy and go to retrieve the bow. There was a quiver with a dozen or so arrows in it as well, which he also took. Within moments he had both weapon and ammo strung over his back, and he was ready to go.

The cowboy, however, wouldn't let it go without comment. Watching EX-07 as the latter walked past him again, he said, "So, you're an archer, huh?"

All the cowboy got in return was a stern look. Did he have to make a comment about everything? As grateful as EX-07 was to be rescued from that bed, he found the cowboy to be absolutely annoying. The sooner they could part ways, the better.

The look didn't seem to make the cowboy give up or shrink away, though. In fact, he had the gall to look _amused_ , out of all things. "Just tryin' to make small talk," the cowboy said. Then he inclined his head towards the door as he said, "Let's get goin' then."

"It's about time," EX-07 muttered under his breath.


	2. 2

"McCree's the name."

EX-07 glanced up at the cowboy. It had been several hours since their escape from the Talon base, and the two of them were lying low in the desert, tucked up under a rocky outcropping and effectively out of sight. Talon was scouring the desert for them, and McCree seemed particularly worried about some agent named 'Widowmaker'. Admittedly the name did bring up some rather unpleasant feelings for EX-07, but he couldn't remember anything about this person. It was a feeling that they really didn't want to get caught, nothing more. But they had done an excellent job of covering their tracks, so now all they had to do was wait for them to move on. Of course, waiting meant that he had to deal with the cowboy, who had so far proven competent at shooting and absolutely annoying at everything else.

"McCree," EX-07 repeated carefully. The name sounded different on his tongue, a difference in accents he supposed. English names had always been a little tricky for him, and they required much practice to get perfect. Of course, he always practiced, he was too prideful to show a lack of skill in something as simple as saying names.

EX-07 had no idea how he knew all of this, either. It just came to him, undeniable facts about his existence that he didn't feel the need to question. This was turning into a trend with him: he had habits and behaviors that he was sure existed for a reason, even if he couldn't remember why. He was glad his instincts hadn't been wiped out along with his memories, though. It would be much harder to escape Talon if he had to re-learn how to walk and talk.

"That's me," McCree said cheerfully, "The full name's Jesse McCree, but most people just call me by my last name. It's like an outlaw moniker or somethin' I guess."

"So you are an outlaw," EX-07 said, raising an eyebrow at McCree.

That drew a chuckle out of the other man. It was deep and rich, almost more of a rumble than actual laughter. "No, no," he said eventually, "Just got a bad reputation, that's all. I tend to be in the right place at the wrong time, and people start assumin' things."

"…so you are an outlaw," EX-07 repeated, this time with his voice flatter than before.

"Now I'm hurt." McCree put his hand to his heart in an exaggerated manner, as if he had just been shot by one of EX-07's arrows. "You'd really think that about little ol' me? Even after I rescued you?"

"A villain can still do good, just as a good man can do villainous acts," EX-07 said simply. The words came to him so easily that he was sure he had said it many times before, perhaps as some kind of mantra to himself. It felt pretty important, so he decided to keep those words in mind.

McCree hummed at that, but ultimately didn't comment on it. Instead, he changed the topic of conversation entirely, moving back to the introductions as he said, "Y'know, I gave you my name, but I ain't heard yours."

That was clearly an invitation for EX-07 to introduce himself, but instead he just shifted his gaze away. What name could he give? He couldn't remember his own, and 'EX-07' wasn't much of a name. Should he explain his memory problem to McCree? That might draw pity from the cowboy, and he definitely didn't want that. The thought of being pitied by someone made his stomach turn.

But at the same time, he couldn't remain silent either. Maybe he should make up a name. It wasn't like he would be with this idiotic cowboy for long, so giving him a fake name might sate his curiosity for now. But what if McCree called out to him and he didn't react because he wasn't used to being called that name? That would just make him suspicious. EX-07 really was trapped here, and by such a simple question.

"…I do not know," he said simply, opting for the truth in the end.

"You don't know?"

He shook his head. "I do not know what Talon was doing to me, but they have made a mess of my memories. I cannot seem to focus on them for long enough to make sense of anything. Thus, the only 'name' I have to give is this." At that, he lifted up his right arm, angling it so that McCree could see the tattoo on his forearm. It was night, and they were in the shadows of the rocks above, but the stars and moon were out and shining brightly which gave just enough light to barely make out the code on his arm.

There was a long pause, long enough to make EX-07 feel uncomfortable and to pull his arm back towards himself. But as he did so, a hand reached out and grabbed his wrist gently, a move which got EX-07 to look up. Even in the dark it was easy to see the look on Jesse's face: pain, sadness, and a bit of an apology too. Such a strange look, given how innocuous the marking was.

McCree knew something. He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but the man sitting in front of him knew something about this mark. Something that might help him get some answers.

"Sweetpea," McCree said sadly, opting for a pet name instead of calling him by the designation on his arm, "This ain't you. This thing right here-" he tapped the tattoo lightly with his metal hand. "-this don't define you. That's _their_ doing, not yours. You don't gotta live by it."

EX-07 was slightly annoyed by the use of a pet name, but the rest of what McCree had to say was enough to keep him from giving a scolding for it. Something about the way McCree said that spoke of a familiarity with that mark, one that was making that question of 'what does McCree know' burn in his mind even more. He was pretty sure that McCree wasn't a member of Talon himself, but why else would he know anything about this?

Maybe EX-07 should stick with McCree a bit longer, to try and get some answers out of him.

"I have no name then," EX-07 said simply, and he moved to pull his arm away again. This time McCree let go, but he stayed close instead of backing up to his previous perch.

"Well I'm gonna need somethin' to call you by, unless you wanna be 'darlin' for the rest of our time together," McCree said. The sadness was still present in his voice, but he was clearly trying to push it away, trying to return to his previous cheerfulness. Possibly for EX-07's sake, he imagined, which just made him more annoyed.

"You will not," he said sternly, "I am not your 'darling'." He was nobody's 'darling', he realized with a rather painful jolt. Even without his memories, he could feel the stab of loneliness that accompanied that declaration. He was reasonably sure that there was no spouse or significant other waiting for him to come home, worried about his wellbeing, begging the police for help finding a missing person. No, EX-07 was pretty sure he was on his own in this world. That felt more like how things were.

McCree hummed thoughtfully before saying, "Maybe 'archer', then. Since you're so handy with that bow 'n' all."

"Absolutely not," EX-07 said, scoffing at the name, "If you call me that then I will call you 'cowboy'."

McCree chuckled again before saying, "That might not be so bad, y'know. A cowboy and an archer, travelling the wild west. Sounds like a movie setup."

EX-07 gave McCree another stern glare, which made McCree laugh and hold his hands up in defeat. "Fine, fine," McCree said, "I give. You come up with somethin'."

EX-07 was motivated now, at the very least. He could at least pick something decidedly less stupid than what the cowboy would come up with. Something common was for the best, he decided. Simple, used by many people, easy to say. There were a few names that popped into his mind, though most were immediately dismissed. But there was one that stuck around, one that made the most sense given his situation.

"Yuu," he said finally, "That will be acceptable for now." Until he remembered his real name, he added silently.

"Yuu?" The name was spoken easily, and it made McCree raise an eyebrow, "That's a name?"

Ex-07—no, 'Yuu' now—nodded his head. "It is a common Japanese name, and given how it sounds just like 'you' I thought it might be easy to adopt for the time being. Nobody here will have trouble pronouncing it." And he would react to it like it was his own name, he had decided. If anyone hears 'you!' shouted in their general direction, they're going to look. At least with that instinct he could make it look like 'Yuu' was his real name, so nobody would ask too many questions.

McCree seemed unsatisfied by that, though. "You sure that's what you want? Japanese has some really cool-sounding names. My best bud, Genji-" Sometime about that name prickled at the back of Yuu's mind, but it wasn't enough to make him interrupt McCree. "-he's told me all about the people he knew back home. You could go for somethin' real fancy."

"I do not need 'fancy'," Yuu stated, "I'm not keeping this name. It is only until I remember my own. A name that can easily be discarded is a better choice."

The two men watched each other for a moment, but ultimately it was McCree who relented, giving a noncommittal shrug. "If that's what you want," he said, "Nice ta meetcha, Yuu."

The name didn't sit quite right in Yuu's mind. It definitely wasn't his own name, he could tell that much. But he wasn't about to go through the tens of thousands of different Japanese names in hopes of saying one that sounds familiar to him, that was impractical. No, this would do for now. He would make it work.


	3. 3

Yuu knew that he was a mess. He hadn't taken the time to really inspect himself in a mirror yet, what with not being near one in a few days, but he could tell he looked just peachy right now. He had been pretty clean within the Talon base, probably out of necessity more than anything else, but two days of traveling through a desert had left his exposed skin burned and dust in places he didn't even know existed. When they had finally reached the outskirts of the nearby city—Carlsbad, or so McCree had told him—Yuu had felt nothing but relief. Finally they could be out of that hot rocky region to the west of the city, and maybe he could stop getting so sunburned.

McCree had told him not to get his hopes up, as it was late spring and the heat was only going to get worse from there.

But Yuu hadn't known how bad he had truly looked until the pair had stopped by a gas station. They needed water, and McCree had spared a few dollars to go towards the purchase of a few bottles, but Yuu had been the one to go in and buy them, Because McCree 'had a reputation around there', apparently.

As soon as Yuu stepped inside, the man at the counter held up a hand to stop him. "You can't hang out in here," he said, firmly but not unkindly, "You'll chase away the customers."

Frowning, Yuu held up the bills McCree had given him. "But I am a customer."

The man considered this for a moment, and finally he said, "Alright, but make it quick."

Such rudeness. Yuu was tempted to take his business elsewhere, but most of the buildings nearby were residential. They would have to walk a while to get to the next gas station, and Yuu wasn't sure he could wait that long. So he begrudgingly headed over to the coolers built into the walls of the gas station and picked out two large bottles of water, paying more attention to size than brand. Water was water, and he just needed a lot of it.

But as Yuu shut the cooler door, he caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of the glass. It wasn't very clear, but it was enough for Yuu to notice that the bottom half of his face was a mess of black and grey. Frowning, he peered into his transparent reflection on the glass, trying to make sense of it. But it wasn't enough, he needed an actual mirror to make sense of it all.

The gas station was small enough that Yuu could speak to the attendant from where he was. "Do you have a restroom?"

"It's for paying customers only," the man said, once again speaking firmly but without meanness to his voice.

Scowling, Yuu strode up to the counter, slamming his hand down onto the countertop hard enough to make the man jump. The dollar bills were under his fingertips, and after a moment he slid his hand forward, also sliding the bills towards the man. Then, with his annoyance tempered into a steel voice, he said, "Where is your restroom?"

The man, clearly bothered by Yuu's show of aggression, simply pointed towards the back. Yuu immediately turned and walked back there, stepping into the bathroom and locking the door behind himself.

The bathroom was disgusting. It had been regularly cleaned, but everything in it was old and stained or rusted. The mirror was cracked in the corner, but not shattered, so Yuu could at least use that. And use it he did.

His face was an absolute mess. He had no idea how long his facial hair had been growing, but his moustache and beard had taken over the lower part of his face. It was mostly black, with a sprinkling of grey strands mixed in, and it looked like it hadn't been trimmed in a while. No wonder his face had felt so itchy before, he thought to himself. He needed to take care of that, and soon.

Next his gaze drifted upwards, to his hair. It was long, down past his shoulders, with grey jutting out from his temples. If he maintained it and kept it tied back he could probably handle having long hair like that, but right now with two days of no washing or brushing it looked like a mess. It was a wonder his hair hadn't matted at all, given how little care he had put into it.

'Shameful' came to mind. 'How dare you let your appearance get so bad.' That quiet, nagging voice, one that said all of his inner-criticisms and made him feel bad about himself.

Yuu stormed out of the bathroom, bottles of water clenched tightly in his hands. He hurried away from the gas station and over to where McCree was waiting for him, a safe distance away and out of sight. The idiot cowboy was waiting and watching, and he gave Yuu a little wave as he approached, but Yuu did not respond to that. In fact, he said nothing until he stopped right in front of McCree, staring up harshly at him.

"McCree," he said.

"Sup darlin'," McCree drawled at him.

"Do not call me that," Yuu snapped. He quickly got his voice under control after that, though, and he followed it up by saying, "I need a haircut."

McCree blinked a couple of times as he looked down at Yuu. "Well I wasn't gonna say nothin'," he said, "But if you want one, sure. There's a place not far from here."

\---

It was supposed to be a short trip, but somehow the pair of them ended up wasting nearly the entire day on changing Yuu's appearance. It was for the best, given that Yuu's clothes were undeniably Talon in nature. He wanted to ditch those clothes as soon as possible, if only to keep from drawing too much of the wrong kind of attention. But three hours looking for the right outfit? That just seemed like too much, given the lack of quality in these clothes. He didn't even have to get anything measured or tailored! Such a waste.

Yuu definitely did appreciate the haircut, though. He had decided to go a bit bold, shaving the sides and leaving the top long. The grey at his temples had made him look old, but with it shaved off he now looked more like how he felt. And with his beard trimmed to match, he definitely looked more like 'thirty-something faffing about for the summer' rather than 'escaped convict on the run'. An important detail for blending in, he decided.

"Are we finally done," Yuu said irritably as he stood outside the last secondhand clothing shop they had stopped in. McCree had picked out most of the clothes, opting for something 'stylish' rather than 'practical'. The overcoat might have been a bit much in this heat, though. Yuu would have to ditch that later. The pants were necessary, though, because like hell was he wearing shorts and showing off his legs. The dragon design on the backside of them was pretty cool, however. McCree had made a good choice there.

McCree took a moment to inspect Yuu, giving him the once-over as he stroked his beard thoughtfully with his non-robotic hand. "Hmm…I think so, yeah. That'll be enough."

 _finally_ , Yuu thought to himself. He was just about done with going through stores today. Though now that he thought about it, McCree hadn't gotten anything for himself, had he? No, he was still in that ridiculous cowboy getup. Surely that would stick out to Talon soldiers as well. Yuu almost dreaded asking, because it would mean more shopping, but he wanted to stay hidden more than he wanted to avoid stores. "What about yourself? You stick out more than I did."

"Who, me?" McCree held a hand to his chest, acting fake-shocked that Yuu would say something like that. "But this is my signature look! I gotta keep it, it's part of who I am! Besides, I rock the John Wayne look, don't you think?"

Yuu raised an eyebrow at McCree. "John Wayne?"

"You really don't know- right, right, the memory issues." McCree paused there for a moment, switching gears in his mind before he gave a better explanation. "Y'see, John Wayne is this famous actor from the last century. He made a lot of old cowboy movies, and he was one of the best. This right here-" McCree indicated to his clothing, "This is classic John Wayne right here."

"This actor from last century, he was known for wearing a glowing chest plate," Yuu said flatly.

McCree waved him off at that. "You gotta add a few safety features in this day and age," he said dismissively, "But the rest of the look, that's what I'm talkin' about. Now if you wanna see some of his movies, I can-"

"No," Yuu said quickly, face remaining set even as he watched McCree's fall in disappointment.

"…Well alright, if you're sure," McCree said.


	4. 4

McCree and Yuu waited around for two weeks, just generally living and lounging around in a hotel room, while they waited for Yuu's memories to come back. Both of them had thought that the memory loss would be temporary, and that they would gradually start to return. Their internet searches had told them that generally they were a sign of a concussion, and that things would clear up as time passed. But time had passed, and McCree was starting to get antsy about staying in one place for so long. Something about his 'outlaw past' and 'not wanting to draw too much attention.' Yuu could understand that much, at least. He was wary about staying in one place for too long as well, lest Talon track them down and kidnap him once more.

Yuu still didn't know McCree's place in all of this. He had caught the man looking at him sadly when he thought Yuu wouldn't notice, but whatever was on his mind wasn't something he would readily speak about it seemed. Too painful, maybe? The looks seemed to say that. But whatever it was, Yuu wanted to know. He had the feeling that Talon was important to all of this, and that they would have to go back to Talon to get answers.

It was on the fourteenth day that Yuu finally put a voice to his thoughts. "You found me in a Talon base," he said to McCree that morning, while McCree worked on brushing his teeth by the nearby sink (which was outside of the bathroom, for some reason), "So, logically, Talon should have some files on me."

McCree made a 'mhmm' noise, though he did not speak, and instead continued to brush.

"Then perhaps we should go looking for another one of their bases," Yuu said, "Perhaps we can get into their system and find information on me there, as well as information on my amnesia."

Before he responded. McCree took a moment to spit and rinse out his mouth. "You might be right there, sug'. Dunno why I didn’t think of it before."

Something about McCree's tone told Yuu that he _had_ thought of it before, but that he didn't particularly want to try it.

With his toothbrush stowed, McCree pulled up a map of New Mexico on his phone, one with a special overlay on it. Apparently there were a handful of Talon bases strewn throughout the state, if the little markers were any indication. Yuu noticed that one of them was not far from their current location, and likely the base where McCree had found him.

"I already hit these ones," he said, pointing to the nearby base and then three more, in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe, "So that leaves one more to check out."

Yuu looked for the last symbol, which was just outside of a town up north called Roswell. It looked like a bit of a hike, and Yuu did not like the thought of having to walk that far in the heat. "How will we get there," he asked, glancing up at McCree.

"Oh, I have my ways," McCree said simply. Then he pulled the phone back and flicked it open to another app. After a minute or so of relative silence, with the sound of McCree tapping at his phone the only audible relief, he finally said, "Aha! Good, there's a bus shippin' out in two hours. We'll be there before dark."

Yuu trusted McCree, but still, he had to ask. "A bus will take us there?"

"Yep," McCree said as he slipped his phone back into his pocket, "Good ol' Greyhound. Cheap, reliable, and you don't need a passport. It's the best way for outlaws to travel."

"You are the outlaw, not me," Yuu said sourly.

In response, McCree just clamped his hand down on Yuu's shoulder. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're the company you keep."

"If that were true, then you would become more than a miscreant," Yuu said in a dignified manner.

If nothing else, it at least got a deep belly laugh from McCree. Yuu had found those annoying at first, but as time passed they were becoming more endearing. Maybe traveling with this cowboy wouldn't be as bad as he had thought.

Maybe.

\---

It was unfortunate that Yuu didn't know much about American folklore, because he was completely unprepared for the sight that greeted him as soon as the pair ended up within the city limits. He had ended up in the window seat on the large travel bus, and he frowned as he watched the different signs and storefronts pass by. It took maybe a minute or so before Yuu finally turned to McCree and said, "Why are to so many space ships and aliens everywhere?"

"What, you've never heard of the Roswell aliens before," McCree asked with a snicker.

Yuu just gave him a flat look. He wasn't even going to bother explaining his memory problems again.

Thankfully McCree seemed to get the hint, because he said, "Alright, alright. See, a long time ago there was a crash not too far from here. Now this was back in the days when planes were new, so nobody knew what was goin' on. They just saw a weird thing crash, and then the government came in and cleaned up the mess. So the people said 'it's aliens.'"

"Ridiculous," Yuu muttered under his breath as he shook his head.

"I know, it's a little silly," McCree admitted, "But it's just a thing here. Everyone kinda just goes along with the whole 'whooo, aliens!' thing, 'cause it gets tourists to come in 'n' buy stuff. Plus it's kinda fun, thinkin' that we might not be alone in the universe."

"We have enough problems here on Earth," Yuu said, his sour mood returning once more, "Maybe if more people focused on that instead of keeping their heads in the clouds, then these problems could be solved."

McCree looked like he was about to argue with Yuu, but after a moment he just pulled his hat down over his eyes as he slumped back in his seat. "It's not wrong to dream a little," he grumbled.

The rest of the bus ride was quiet, with no bickering from either man. It felt almost unnatural to Yuu, to go so long without McCree making some kind of comment. Perhaps he had been too harsh in his dismissal of the 'alien nonsense' thing? Even if it was stupid, it was relatively harmless. But at the same time, Yuu felt like he couldn't say anything about it. Even the thought of apologizing made him sick to his stomach. No, it was better to just forget it. McCree would bounce back the moment he saw something else to amuse him.

Which was as soon as they got off the bus, apparently. McCree's face lit up as soon as he caught sight of one of those cheesy alien-themed stores right across the street, and Yuu knew exactly what he was going to say before he even turned towards him. "Hey Yuu, think we could-"

"Five minutes," Yuu said begrudgingly.

McCree was running across the street before Yuu even finished talking. Sighing in defeat, Yuu followed after him, walking at a much slower pace. Not that he was going to go into the store, of course. No, he was going to wait just outside and try to look like he wasn't actually waiting there for anyone. Maybe he would even lean up against the wall to look cool.

Of course, 'five minutes' took much longer than that, and Yuu was left standing there impatiently while McCree took his sweet time in that store. Annoyed, Yuu reached into his pocket like he was going to grab for a phone, to check the time of course. But he didn't have a phone, or much of anything else if he was being honest, so he was left standing there awkwardly with his hand in his pocket once he realized his mistake. If he weren't already pink from his sunburn, someone might have noticed an embarrassed flush on his face.

The awkwardness was quickly forgotten when he noticed something, though. Across the street and down the road from the bus stop was a little corner store, one of those that has maybe two rows for food and that's it. Parked outside of the store there was a black car, one with tinted windows. And next to that stood a man- obviously the driver of the car- who was making a phone call of some sort. All in all, not too interesting. But what caught his attention was the outfit the man was wearing: all black, with a t-shirt, pants, and combat boots. There was also a large overcoat, one that seemed to be more for concealing a sidearm than for anything else. Nobody needed a coat in this heat, especially not at three in the afternoon.

Yuu made a note of it, but didn't act on it yet. He had his suspicions about that car, but he didn't want to move without McCree. McCree was the one who seemed to know more about Talon, and if Yuu's guesses as to the man's purposes were true, then he definitely wanted McCree with him.

"Hey Sug', look what I got for ya!"

Yuu snapped his head around to look at McCree, who was holding up what was probably the gaudiest shirt in that entire store. It was tie-dye, with an alien head (the standard grey kind, Yuu noted) printed on the front. And underneath that was the phrase 'You're out of this world!'

Yuu was sure his look of contempt was enough to get his point across, but he decided to state his opinion just to make sure he was being clear. "That is hideous. And stop using terms of endearment for me."

"Aww, c'mon," McCree said, waving the shirt back and forth a little bit, "It's great! 'Sides, you need more stuff to wear, you can't be all 'goth archer' all the time."

"Goth archer-" Yuu stopped himself, and he pinched at the bridge of his nose. "Nevermind, I do not want to know. Just return the shirt so we can go on our way."

"No refunds," McCree said in a singsong voice, and he promptly shoved the gaudy shirt into Yuu's arms. "You gotta keep it now! At least use it as a nightshirt or somethin', you're gonna wear through those clothes in a month if you never take 'em off."

Sighing, Yuu glanced back to the corner store, only to do a double-take. The car and its driver were both gone, having somehow vanished in the span of a 30-second conversation. But in a nearby alley there was another man, cloaked in all-black and wearing a white mask of some sort. It was hard to tell the details this far away, but it certainly looked strange. And something about that man made a cold terror settle into Yuu's gut.

"You alright," McCree asked finally. Maybe he had said more, but in Yuu's moment of panic he hadn't heard it at all. Yuu looked to McCree and saw the worried look on his face, but he immediately turned his attention back to the alley from before.

Just in time to see the man disappear into a cloud of black smoke.

"Oh _fuck_!" McCree was suddenly grabbing for Yuu's hand and dragging him in the opposite direction.

A million questions were running through Yuu's mind as they fled down the street, moving as fast as their legs could carry them. Who was that man? Why did seeing him make Yuu feel so terrified? And Why did McCree look equally terrified?

The loud gunshot and pockmarks suddenly appearing in the wall next to Yuu's head were good answers for at least a couple of those questions, at least.

McCree urged Yuu on, ducking down another alley and twisting their way around some garbage cans. Then they left the alley and went down another street, turning at that corner and fleeing that way. Cars zipped past and pedestrians jumped out of the way, but McCree and Yuu didn't stop for anything. Not even when those pedestrians started screaming moments later.

Yuu took a moment to glance back, and he saw the man following them still. He wasn't harming the other people, thankfully, but he wasn't stopping in his pursuit either. He also didn't seem to be _solid_ , and it looked like he was floating across the ground rather than running.

Then he held out his left arm to shoot at McCree and Yuu again, and Yuu caught sight of a mark on the inside of his forearm. A tattoo, actually, one that read "EX-02."

"McCree," Yuu called out in warning, and McCree ducked at the same time the man fired the gun. The bullets went into the wall right where McCree's head had been moments ago.

"Keep running," McCree shouted, and they ducked down another alley.

They didn't get too much farther, though. After a few more twists and turns, McCree finally slowed them down to a stop. After so much running he was breathing heavily and sweat was starting to run down his brow. Impressive, for someone who never seemed to sweat in this heat. "We can't keep goin' like this," he said finally, "We're gonna have to fight him. You got any skill with that bow of yours?"

"Of course," Yuu said automatically. Even if he couldn't ever remember shooting anything, he could already run through the motions of shooting in his mind. He would hit his target, he was sure of it.

"Then get up high and cover me," McCree said, pulling out his revolver.

Yuu looked around him. There wasn't anywhere to go, this alley ended in a brick wall and several trash cans. There was a ladder against the building itself, but it was one of those fire escapes designed to be lowered down from above in case of an emergency. Unless he could jump straight up twenty feet, there was no way he was reaching that.

But the more he looked at the wall, the more he felt like he _could_ climb it. It should be easy, right? Just run right at it, then pivot his body in just the right way so that the running continued up the wall-

He absolutely could do it, Yuu realized. He had no memory of ever doing anything like that, but he didn't need to remember. His body could do the remembering for him.

Yuu backed up, going all the way to the other side of the alley, right up against that other wall. It would be a tight fit, but he might be able to get enough speed this way. Wasting no time, Yuu started running. He ran as fast as his body would let him in such tight quarters, and when he reached the wall a second later he placed his hands against it and pushed himself up. Then his feet touched the wall and soon they were pushing him up too.

Up he went, hand over hand, foot over foot. His momentum started to die down, so he made one final push, reaching out with a hand to snag the bottom rung of the ladder. The force of holding himself up with just one arm made his muscles burn, but he fought past the burning, pulling himself up so he could reach the second rung with his other hand. Then he did it again, and again, and again. Finally he was high enough up that his feet could touch the bottom rung, and he scrambled up the ladder as fast as he could.

Moments later he popped up over the top of the roof, rolling over the edge and landing on his feet. Then he turned and looked back down for McCree, only to see that the cowboy had moved on down the street. Looking back the way he came, he could see the wraith of a man heading for he alley they had ducked down just moments before.

Yuu slipped the bow off of his shoulders, holding the grip in his left hand. Then he reached back and took an arrow, which he placed on the string and pulled back. The man below was moving in a predictable pattern, it was as if he had absolutely no fear of being struck. Maybe he couldn't be hit? The way he seemed to turn to smoke was suspicious. Perhaps an arrow alone would not stop him.

Yuu felt a strange stirring in his left arm. It felt…antsy. Full of energy, waiting to be released. Something was supposed to happen, he was sure of it. But try as he might to remember, nothing came to him. It made his arm itch, but nothing more.

Instead, Yuu let the arrow go, aiming straight for the man's head. But instead of finding its target, it went right through him and struck the wall behind him. The man's head wavered slightly, like disturbed smoke, but went back to normal a moment later.

Then he stopped moving and looked right up at Yuu.

That terror settled into Yuu's gut again, making his hand tremble. This man…he _knew_ this man. He knew who he was, but he just couldn't remember. Who was he?

Why was Yuu so afraid of him?

After a moment, the man turned his attention back in the direction McCree had run, and he kept moving. Yuu could do nothing but watch him go, frozen in his spot. It was only after the man turned the corner and move out of sight that Yuu finally let out the breath he had been holding in, sinking down to his knees on the roof.

He needed to get up. He had to get up and keep moving. McCree was in danger, that thing was after him. It was after _him_ , not Yuu. But if Yuu didn't help, then McCree was going to die-

"Well now, look what we got here."

Yuu snapped his head up to look at the ridiculous cowboy standing in front of him. When had he gotten up on the roof? Yuu hadn't even heard his spurs. But now that McCree was standing in front of him and he looked alright, relief bubbled up within Yuu. He relaxes, sighing in relief, and a little smile even graced his face for a moment. McCree was alright. That man hadn't hurt him.

But a moment later, that smile was gone. "You're late," Yuu said, his face settling into a frown.

"Come now, don't be like that," McCree said playfully as he crouched down near Yuu, "You look a lot better when you're smilin'."

"I am not here to smile for your pleasure," Yuu said irritably, probably with a bit more bite than what was deserved. It was a little embarrassing, to be called out like that. Especially when McCree was the one doing the calling out.

McCree simply held up a hand to stop Yuu. "Easy there. I'm just sayin' it's better when you're not so pissed off. Maybe a bit o' good news'll help bring that pretty little smile back, hmm?"

That was when Yuu made sure to scowl on purpose, an act that simply made McCree chuckle. Then McCree continued to talk, saying, "So I think I lost Reaper back there-"

"Who is Reaper," Yuu said suddenly, interrupting McCree, "And don't give me an avoidant answer. You knew who that man was." The accusation was present in his voice, as he was not trying to hide it at all. This was all very dangerous, and he wanted to know what was going on.

McCree tried to smile, to act like everything was alright. But Yuu's stern look seemed to cut right through him, and that smile fell into a guilty look. "Look, it's not what you think," McCree said carefully, "I knew him before. Back when he was more human. I don't know what happened to him, or who did it, but he's…changed. He's different now."

McCree indicated to the mark on Yuu's right arm. "That's the only clue I have to what happened, too. I've seen a few people with tattoos like that, and they're all different. Changed. More monster-like, I guess? But they all work for Talon, and since that's where I found you, that's the only answer I got: Talon did somethin' to 'em."

"Something they were trying to do to me," Yuu said slowly, the horror of the situation setting in. Talon was experimenting on people and changing them in hideous ways. The way that man—Reaper—was able to turn to smoke told him enough. Human experimentation. That's what was going on in Talon, and that's the fate Yuu had just narrowly avoided.

But then Yuu remembered the humming energy in his left arm, the energy that had just dissipated without doing anything. Had he really avoided that fate?

"That's why I couldn't leave you there," McCree admitted, "I've seen the results of their handiwork. I couldn't let that happen to you."

So that's what had happened. McCree must have seen the mark on his arm, and he had known what would have happened to him. That's why he rescued him. Maybe McCree was more noble than he let on.

"…I see," Yuu said finally, considering everything he had been told, "And that is all you know?"

McCree nodded and said, "I swear. If I knew anything else, I'd tell you."

"Then it seems we will be working together for a bit longer," Yuu said, "You to find out what happened to this man you knew before, and I to find out who I am."

McCree gave Yuu a sad smile, and then he stood up. Once he was upright he held a hand out to Yuu, and he said, "I'd like to find out who you are too. You're an interestin' one, you know that? It'd be a shame if we parted ways before I knew your real name."

Something about the way McCree said that made Yuu's chest feel a little lighter. He reached out and took that hand, pulling himself up with McCree's help. "Then we shall have to find it out together."

Together.

That felt nice to say, actually.

It was certainly better than traveling alone.


	5. 4

They couldn't avoid it any longer. After bouncing all around New Mexico for the last month following dead leads and whispers that disappeared into the wind, they just couldn't find any more Talon holdouts. Either the shady organization didn't have that great of a foothold on the state as McCree had been led to believe, or they had gone deep into hiding after the incident in Roswell. Yuu was more inclined to believe in the former, as only a pathetic organization would be afraid of two men working on their own. While he did not remember his past, his pride had survived the memory loss intact, and that pride demanded that he only be kidnapped by the best and the brightest in the world.

But regardless of the reason, the fact remained that they were going to have to travel across state lines to find more Talon bases. And with that kind of a trip, identification was going to be necessary. While 'Adult Japanese Man' was not exactly a category that made a lot of cops suspicious, the fact remained that he did not fit the expected depiction of an American, and people were going to ask for his ID. And any ID he may have had was probably destroyed back when that first base had been destroyed too.

"Don't worry," McCree said with a wink when Yuu relayed this concern to him, "I know just the guy to help us out."

This 'guy' ended up being a middle-aged man living deep in the heart of Santa Fe, in a small dingy store that was one of many in a row of storefronts with chipped paint and dirty windows. This particular store was one where the stairs went downwards into a basement of sorts, which just added to the whole 'shady criminal hideout' look.

Yuu took one look at the storefront, which was little more than a door and a sign that said 'books for sale', before giving McCree an apprehensive glance. "Don't worry," McCree said in response, "I know it don't look like much, but my man Neil can help us out."

Yuu still waited for McCree to go first. If the cowboy trusted this man so much, then he could be the first one to enter his shop.

Once they were inside the door, they had to walk down a set of stairs and through a dim hallway to reach their destination. Bookshelves lined either side of the hallway, but it was clear that none of them had been touched in ages. They might have crumbled away to nothing if someone even tried. It was clear to Yuu that this basement was not meant to be a store, not with how haphazardly it had all been thrown together. This was clearly a front for something else, and it was a wonder nobody had caught on yet.

As they walked past all the dusty books, McCree began to talk, giving Yuu a bit of an explanation. "There's always a market for fake identities. With how sophisticated technology's been getting, it's getting harder 'n' harder to fake it. But Neil here, he's got a special way of doin' things. Y'see, back during the worst of the Omnic Crisis, a lotta people died. But it was mostly adults who kicked the bucket, since the young’uns got evacuated pretty quick. That left behind millions o' orphans who didn't have a family to take care of 'em, and no way of identifyin' any of 'em either since usually the paperwork got destroyed when the cities did.

"So the government, they set up this 'National Identification Service.'" McCree did airquotes as he said that. "The idea bein' that they knew these kids were Americans, but they didn't know exactly who they were. So they gave 'em new last names 'n' stuff, everything they needed to legally exist. And they did this no questions asked: if you were a kid back then with no family, you got a new identity. And then you usually got shipped off to one of the orphanages, but that's not important here.

"Because of this, it's really easy to fake an identity through the NIS. You just gotta be the right age to've been a kid during the Omnic Crisis, and it's easy to fake an ID. They didn't keep track of how many NIS IDs they gave out, so it's easy to slip one into the system every now and then. Which is what Neil's gonna do for you."

It sounded pretty solid. If the government really didn't keep track of just how many identities they gave out, then it would definitely be easy to fake one more. And while Yuu didn't know his exact age, he figured he was in his late 30s, which would have put him at just under 10 when the Omnic Crisis was going on. As much as Yuu would have preferred to find his own real identity, he could understand the importance behind having a temporary one for the time being.

At that point they had reached the end of the hall, where an unlabeled door was left shut. Yuu knew they needed to move quickly, but there was one question left unanswered. "How do you know all of this," he asked.

"A man on the run like me needs a new name every now and then," McCree said with a wink, "I can't go around as 'Jesse McCree' all the time."

Ah, legal troubles. Given what Yuu knew of McCree so far, that made so much sense. Satisfied with that answer, Yuu gave McCree a nod. McCree in turn grinned and opened the door.

The room on the other side of the door was much like the previous hallway: cramped, and dim. However, this room actually looked like it was used. There was a computer on a desk humming away as it processed some sort of data. Trash and empty beer cans were strewn about the room, leaving the floor a mess. An open doorway led to another room, and Yuu could just barely make out the end of a bed in there. It didn't even have a sheet, just a mattress and a blanket thrown over it. That room also had trash all over the floor too. How someone could live in this filth, he could not understand.

When he finally saw Neil, though, he understood everything. The man was in his 50s at the earliest, balding, pale, and looked like a dirty gym sock. He obviously hadn't showered in a few days, though Yuu couldn't smell anything terrible. What's worse, he was wearing a tank top and what appeared to be swim shorts. And that's it, nothing more.

McCree, however, did not seem grossed out by any of this. Instead, he had a big grin on his face as he said, "Neil! Long time no see! How's life been treatin' you?"

Neil's voice was scratchy, like that of an old man who had spent his life smoking too much. "Same old, same old," he said, "What do you need, McCree? Another identity?"

"Yep, but not for me." That was when McCree clamped his hand down on Yuu's shoulder. "My friend here needs one. Same as usual, through the NIS program."

Neil moved into the old, creaky computer chair and began to type on his computer as he said, "They've been cracking down on NIS IDs recently. Keep an eye out when you use it, I think they're using a secondary way to detect fakes."

"Have they figured out you're hackin' 'em in," McCree asked.

"Nah, they still look legit. I think they're checking how often the IDs are used. It's pretty easy to tell an ID is new when it's only been used recently." After a short pause, Neil added, "I can add some fake 'previous checks' to the ID too, but it's a hundred per five previous checks."

McCree let out a low whistle, then said, "That's how you're makin' money now, is it?"

"Hey, a man's gotta eat. So what'll it be?"

McCree glanced in Yuu's direction. "Well? It's your ID, how 'real' do you want it to be?"

Yuu wasn't the one paying for this ID, as McCree held all of the money, so he felt like he shouldn't make it too expensive. McCree had never once complained about the cost of having Yuu travel with him, but he knew it wasn't cheap. At the very least, his costs had been doubled. How much would this ID set McCree back?

"Perhaps just five then," Yuu said finally, after some thought, "Spaced out over several years to seem reasonable."

Neil nodded. "Secretive, but enough of a presence to be believable. Got it." He then picked up a large index card and tossed it in Yuu's direction, the same way one might throw a playing card. Yuu caught it easily and looked down at it as Neil said, "Pick a last name. The cities listed are where the orphanages are located. If you want an Asian one, there's 'Suzuki' out of Seattle and 'Wong' over in St. Paul."

Yuu took a moment to read through the card. The list of names was a rather short one, all things considered. There were about 30 in total, with varying origins for the names. It probably didn't matter which one he chose, since his cover story was going to be that he was a war orphan that grew up in an orphanage, but he still took the time to read over each name and consider both name and location carefully.

He made it about halfway through the list before one of the names caught his eye: _'McCree – Phoenix, AZ.'_

Yuu glanced up at McCree, who was busy chatting with Neil about some inane thing. The cowboy had never mentioned his past before; no parents, no siblings, nothing. For how much he talked, Yuu would have expected to hear something, anything. Was McCree quiet about his past because he didn't have a past to talk about?

At that moment, Yuu felt a strange squeezing in his chest. It felt similar to that time before, when he had thought that Talon had cornered him in that alley, but this time it was stronger and it lingered. It sat heavy in him, pulling his face into a deep frown. And the more he thought about that previous point, the heavier that feeling got.

Jesse McCree was a war orphan.

The man who was kind to everyone, who treated everyone like a long-lost cousin, had nobody to call a 'family'.

Yuu drew in a quick, shuddering breath, one that he had not meant to take so loudly. It was enough to draw McCree's attention, and as soon as he looked at Yuu his brows furrowed in confusion. "Y'alright?"

"I'm fine," Yuu said, perhaps a bit too quickly, "I- 'Suzuki' will be adequate." Then he carefully set the card down on the corner of the computer desk, word-side down.

It wasn't until several hours later, when McCree and Yuu left the store with a Manilla envelope in hand, that Yuu finally realized the truth: that feeling he had experienced was grief. He barely knew McCree, but he knew enough to know that the man deserved better than to be left behind by even the country's government. Yuu felt bad for McCree, for the hardships he had likely experienced because of a war that he had no control over. Even if McCree seemed to be alright now, he probably hadn't had a good childhood. Which was a shame, because he really deserved more than that.

"Sunshine."

Yuu blinked, the sudden use of that nickname bringing him back to the present. He cast McCree a curious glance, and in turn McCree said, "You were zonin' out there. You sure you're good?"

"I am fine," Yuu said without hesitation, "I am just tired, I suppose." Tired enough that he didn't even think to admonish McCree for the use of a pet name until several seconds later. "…and don't call me by terms of endearments."

McCree snorted at that. "Yeah, I guess I'll have to call ya 'Mr. Suzuki' now, huh?"

Yuu was about to tell him yes, but he paused. 'Suzuki' was as much a part of his fake name as 'Yuu' was, so it really shouldn't have made a difference. But still, it felt wrong. That name would be on his paperwork, but it didn't really feel like 'his', not in the way 'Yuu' had become his. "…no, 'Yuu' is fine," he said finally.

McCree gave Yuu a look, one that made Yuu wonder if he had said something wrong, before he let out a sigh. "Fine, if ya say so," he said, scratching at the back of his neck idly, "But if I'm gonna call you Yuu, then you should call me Jesse. It's only right that we both use the same names."

Yuu could see the logic in that, but more importantly, it felt right to him. They had been together for nearly two months now, fighting against Talon and trying to find out the truth of what had happened to him. McCree- no, _Jesse_ \- he had done so much for him. Surely that made them friends, right?

"…alright," Yuu said finally, "Jesse."

Jesse gave Yuu a smile, and it was slightly different than the ones he usually gave. They were all pretty genuine smiles, but this one was warm, and welcoming. It made Yuu's stomach twist in a way that actually felt good, if a little confusing. "Alright, Yuu," Jesse said, "Let's find a place to crash for the night then."

That should have been the end of it. They had decided on names, and they were tentative friends now. But nothing had really changed between them. Many of their walks had been made in silence, when Yuu had made it clear that he had no interest in talking. But it felt wrong somehow, like he was doing Jesse a disservice by remaining silent after an important moment like that. The man clearly liked talking, and depriving him of that chance to talk was no longer as amusing as it had been before.

The sky started to turn dark, and a few of the brighter stars managed to twinkle through the light pollution of the city. And as they walked the last few blocks to a nearby motel, Yuu took a risk, for Jesse's sake. "This…John Wayne person. The one that you mentioned before."

Jesse looked absolutely surprised, to the point where he didn't speak up at first. Yuu swallowed down his nervousness and said, "Tell me more about him."

That confusion quickly blossomed into unadulterated joy. Jesse quickly jumped into a rather long-winded explanation involving 'cowboys' and 'old movies', one which Yuu did his best to follow along with, and even asked follow-up questions to when he was unsure of something. It was a lot of information to take in, but Yuu filed away all of the information he could. It was rather tedious, but it made the cowboy happy when he gushed about something he loved. And really, listening was the least Yuu could do after Jesse had done so much for him.


	6. 6

With no real clues of where to go next, Jesse and Yuu opted to go west. It seemed like the best choice for two particular reasons. Firstly, California was out west, right along the ocean. Given the sheer number of coastline cities and towns it was very likely that Talon would have a base somewhere out there for smuggling. It was probably unlikely that a smuggling base would have any of the scientific information that Jesse and Yuu were looking for, but it might have information on where to go to find labs and such.

Secondly, several Californian cities had large Japanese populations. Which meant they were more likely to find someone who knew Yuu there. If Yuu was American at all that is; his accent wasn't particularly heavy, but it was still present, and that pointed to Yuu actually having been raised in Japan at some point. The possibility of Yuu being a foreigner and brought to America by Talon was present in both men's minds, but they didn't talk about that very much. It was better to cross that bridge when they came to it.

That was that: Los Angeles, several hundred miles to the west, was their end goal. Jesse 'knew a guy' out there apparently, someone from his far past who would help them out in their search. They didn't take a bus this time, though. Both men agreed on the fact that staying to one mode of transportation would make their movements too predictable, especially if Talon really was following them. So, with a little bit of finagling, Jesse managed to snag a used truck from a shady car dealer in Santa Fe.

"How did you manage to get this," Yuu asked warily, "Our funds cannot possibly be that limitless." Even if it wasn't technically 'their' funds, as it was 100% Jesse's money, Yuu had fallen into the habit of talking in the plural sense about anything involving both of them.

Jesse just grinned as he patted the hood of the car. "I offered the guy a trade: he gives me whatever car he can part with, and the police don't find out about the little greenhouse in his backyard."

"…So you blackmailed him," Yuu said with a sigh. Not unexpected, and Yuu certainly didn't disapprove to using an advantage like that, but he wasn't sure about using it when they were depending on the results. "How do you know this thing won't break down halfway there?"

"I gave it a once-over, it should last us until California at least. But yeah it's gonna go pretty quick, don't expect much from it. This thing's a rust bucket on its last legs." Despite just insulting the truck, Jesse was still willing to climb right in and try turning it on. The engine wined for a few moments before finally turning over and sputtering to life, kicking out far more noise than an electric vehicle should have. The noise dampeners were probably gone or in bad shape.

But they didn't have much choice, did they? Jesse was technically a wanted man, and while Yuu had paperwork now it wouldn't hold up to close scrutiny. They couldn't go rent a car or buy something, so they had to make due with what they could get.

Yuu pulled open the passenger side door and climbed in, stowing his bag and bow on the floor in-between his legs. He used a bit more force than necessary to pull the door shut, just to make sure it latched. He didn’t need it opening suddenly on the highway. Then he attempted to buckle himself in, but he found that the seatbelt clip was broken and would not stay latched. Yuu glanced up to Jesse with a raised eyebrow, as if to say 'what now?'

In return, Jesse just shrugged. "Guess you better hope we don't wreck," he said, and he put the truck into drive.

\---

The drive west was very long and, for the most part, boring. There wasn't much to see in that region of the world, just large stretches of flat, hot land. By some miracle the AC on the truck does work, and that mercifully kept both temperatures and tempers down. But the conversation between the two men ran dry after the first hour or so of driving.

Sure, Jesse tried to keep it going. He would bring up a topic, and that might get a sentence or two out of Yuu. He was trying to be friendlier with Jesse, after all, so 'slight conversation' was definitely an improvement. But he still wasn't some talking guru, and before long each attempt at a conversation fell flat. Apparently the awkwardness of it all made Jesse stop trying.

A shame, because Yuu did find Jesse's voice to be pleasant. That rich, deep voice, one that rolled out of Jesse's mouth as easily as water might flow off of a cliff. Yuu wouldn't admit to it, but he could listen to it all day. It was almost a shame when he fell quiet, and by the fifth hour of their travels Yuu was considering speaking up just to get Jesse talking again.

Fortunately, Yuu didn't have to be the one to say anything. Just as he was considering it, Jesse's line of sight was drawn to a series of large green signs detailing upcoming exits, including a highway interchange. Yuu watched the signs too, confused as to why Jesse would find them so important, but his gaze was drawn back to Jesse when the scruffy man started to speak. "We're already to Flagstaff, huh?"

"A familiar place, perhaps?" It was phrased as a question, but Yuu was pretty sure the answer was 'yes'.

Jesse nodded. "Phoenix ain't too far away from here. I used to come up here all the time as a kid, chasin' after the older boys as they went and caused all sorts of trouble."

Yuu felt a faint tug at the corner of his mouth. A touch of amusement, or perhaps fondness? It was hard to tell. But hearing about Jesse's past was always interesting, because it was never just a short explanation. No, it was always a grand story of some sort, some big adventure that Jesse remembered in great detail. And as inane as those stories were sometimes, Yuu found comfort in them. Perhaps it was because he couldn't remember his own past, but nostalgia for times long ago brought a smile to his usually-stony demeanor.

"Tell me about it," Yuu said.

As expected, Jesse launched right into his story. He kept his eyes on the road, and he didn't gesture as much as he usually did since he was driving, but the enthusiasm was still present in his voice. "So, we were all from this little place just north of Phoenix, right? And Phoenix is a pretty big city. But these boys- Carlos, Graham, and Alex- they always went up to Flagstaff for some reason. Which is weird, because Phoenix is way bigger. Why drive so far? Now this may be hard to believe, but I was quite the troublemaker as a kid-"

Yuu snorted at that, and Jesse threw him a playful glance before focusing back on the road and continuing his story. "-so I snuck into the back of the truck and hid there when they went up to Flagstaff one day. Had to see it for myself, y'know? I think I was twelve at the time too, and I rode in the bed of the truck the whole way there."

"You didn't!"

"I did! Let me tell ya, that was one of the scariest car rides of my life! The open bed of a truck ain't the place to sit while goin' down the highway."

Yuu could already picture it: a smaller version of Jesse McCree- who still had his beard in Yuu's vision- clinging to the back of a truck for dear life as it sped down the highway. Hair flipping about, cheeks pulled back by the wind, eyes watering, everything. Yuu had to bite down on his lip to keep from grinning at the mental image.

If Jesse's grin was anything to go by, then Yuu was absolutely failing at that task.

"I survived the trip, obviously," Jesse said, amusement lacing his words, "And when they parked the truck, I snuck out of the bed and followed 'em. We were at this store with all these blackened out windows, a real shady-lookin' place. And the boys, they all went inside, so of course I followed 'em. You know what was inside?"

"What was inside," Yuu aked.

"Porn."

" _No!_ "

"Yeah! They went to a damn porn shop! That's why they couldn't go to Phoenix, it would've gotten back to the matrons that they were up to no good. They were usin' fake IDs since they were all like 15 at the time. And they had been getting' away with it- they all looked like they were at least twenty, facial hair 'n' all- but as soon as the owner saw me sneakin' in he kicked us all out." By now Jesse was laughing at the memory, and he had to take one hand off the wheel to wipe away a tear at the corner of his eye.

Yuu was similarly affected. He wasn't one to roar with laughter like Jesse could, but the huff of amusement and chuckling were just as strong for him. And for the moment, the two men couldn't speak between their attempts to catch their breaths. Yuu could feel his spirits lifted, the humor making him feel just a little bit better.

It could get addicting, he realized. Laughing, joking around, having fun by telling stories from long ago. It made Yuu regret the fact that he had no stories to share with Jesse, and that thought was quickly followed by a frown. Was his past full of good memories like that? In all the time he had spent with Jesse, not a single memory of his time before had returned. Maybe none of it would return, and thirty-plus years of his life would be locked behind that fog forever.

Yuu's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the turn signal, which drew Yuu's attention away from his rather depressing thoughts. He glanced up, and he saw that they were in the merging lane, set to exit towards southbound interstate 17. "That isn't the way to Los Angeles," Yuu said, looking to Jesse.

"We're gonna make a quick detour," Jesse said simply as he turned towards the exit, "My old stompin' grounds ain't far from here. Figured it might be worth seein' the matrons while we're in the area, it's been years since I stopped in."

Yuu's frown deepened, and his voice had a touch of disapproval in it as he said, "Jesse, we are on an important mission here-"

"A mission that'll still be there tomorrow," Jesse said, interrupting Yuu, "We'll need to stop 'n' sleep somewhere anyway, so we might as well crash somewhere for free."

Once they were merged onto the new highway, Jesse risked a glance in Yuu's direction. He was still smiling, but that smile didn't reach his eyes. No, Yuu could see a much different emotion behind them: worry.

" 'sides, I bet the matrons'll love ya," he said finally, trying to goad Yuu into accepting the detour, "You're a real charmer, ya know? You might make 'em swoon."

Yuu rolled his eyes at that comment and returned to looking out his window, watching the passing scenery. Jesse's goading had worked, though: Yuu was no longer lost in his own troubling thoughts. Instead, he was thinking to the future, to making a good first impression. If these 'matrons' were who Yuu thought they were, then they were the closest thing to a family that Jesse had. He needed to impress them.

A second later, Yuu was struck by another, equally important thought: why did it matter to him that he make a good first impression with Jesse's family?

\---

It wasn't a 'house', not really. It was far too large to be called anything like that. The main building looked like it may have been a house once upon a time, maybe, but in the following decades a rather large row of barrack-style rooms was added to the back of it, extending the two-story building out far longer than it ever should have been. From there, two additional barrack-style buildings were built in the same general area, framing off three sides of a large courtyard. (The fourth, obviously, being where the dirt driveway came up to the buildings.) All of the buildings were painted a light-yellow color, and all looked well-maintained, but only the 'main' building looked to be used regularly. The other two sat dark, even as dusk began to fall.

Evidence of a time when the McCree orphanage held many more children, Yuu mused to himself.

Their approach wasn't left unnoticed. At least a dozen children, all under 10, were playing outside, and as soon as they heard the roar of the engine and saw the cloud of dirt and dust that followed the truck they ran up to greet the pair of men. Or to greet Jesse, more specifically.

As soon as Jesse turned off the engine and climbed out of his door, he was tackled by that herd of children, most of whom were screaming "Uncle Jesse!" Jesse laughed as he tried to stay upright, though he crouched down far enough to scoop up a couple of the children in a big bear hug. Of course, as soon as he did that, the other kids were clamoring for their turn to get picked up by Jesse, and it turned into a rather long greet-and-hug.

Yuu didn't complain, though. He just climbed out, shut his door, and then leaned against the hood of the truck as he watched the scene in front of him.

"There we go," Jesse said as he gave the last couple children their hugs, "It's good to see y'all again! Is Mama Maria around?"

"She's in the kitchen," one of the older children, a girl with neatly-braided twin braids, answered, "So's Mama Carol. Mama Ginny's with Feli, he's sick right now."

Jesse nodded in understanding, and he said, "I guess I should go say my hellos, huh?"

"Who's he," one of the younger boys asked, pointing to Yuu. It instantly made Yuu feel self-conscious, so he straightened himself up and attempted to discreetly brush the dust off of his shirt. Perhaps leaning against a truck that had just driven down a dirt road wasn't the best idea.

But Jesse just chuckled at the sight of Yuu, and he said, "That's my good friend, Mr. Suzuki. He's been travellin' with me lately."

"He should meet Mama Maria too," another girl piped up, and she hurried around the truck to go grab Yuu's hand and start dragging him towards the house-building.

Inwardly, Yuu began to panic. There was a lot going on at once, and it was getting difficult to keep track of everyone. He had to stop himself from yanking his hand away, and he glanced between the girl and Jesse. 'What do I do' was his silent plea, one that he was trying to express with his eyes. But Jesse just smiled warmly, and he nodded his head in the direction of the door, as if to say 'go on'. Yuu didn't get a chance to respond to that, either, because two boys came up and started pushing him from behind, joining the girl in trying to move him towards the building.

They managed to get to the door without anyone getting knocked over, and Yuu found that the door to the house was actually open. Only a screen door was there, probably to block out bugs or animals, or even nosy children trying to sneak a bit of dinner before it was ready. It seemed to be effective too, because as they reached the door the girl did not try to open it herself. Instead, she called out, "Mama Maria! We've got guests!"

"Guests this late?" came the reply from the kitchen. Yuu couldn't see it from the door, but he could smell the cooking meat and spices. Whatever was being made, it was probably close to being done, and it was enough to make Yuu's stomach rumble. That in turn made the boys behind him giggle, because they likely felt that rumbling through their hands, which were still on his back.

An older woman stepped into view, exiting what was probably the kitchen and walking towards the door. She had to be in her 60s, if Yuu were to guess, with her wavy grey hair done up in a tight bun. She wore an apron over her flowery dress as well, one with many years of stains and marks, but those only showed how loved and well-used it was. 'Loved and well-used' was an accurate description for this woman, if he were to be honest: her face and hands were covered in deep wrinkles, ones that spoke of a life of hard work, but that the work was a labor of love.

The woman, Maria, paused for a moment at the screen door, her hand on the knob but not quite turning it yet. She was looking at Yuu with such an intensity that he could have sworn she was looking _through _him and gazing into his very soul, an act that made Yuu feel instantly uncomfortable, in a way he couldn't quite explain. It was like he was ashamed of what was there, but that couldn't be right, he didn't even remember anything about who he was. How could he be ashamed of something he couldn't remember?__

__Finally, Maria opened the door, stepping out onto the porch. "Who are you," she asked, her voice a bit firmer than it had been a moment ago. Distrust, Yuu realized. She didn't trust him. "And why are you here so late?"_ _

__Yuu opened his mouth to speak, but he found himself unable to utter a single sound. It felt like nothing he could say would be a good enough answer for this woman. So instead, he stood there slack-jawed for a moment before he glanced back over his shoulder to Jesse. He was lost once more and needed help from that ridiculous cowboy._ _

__"Ah! Jesse!" Maria must have seen Jesse over Yuu's shoulder, because her voice was suddenly a lot brighter. Yuu looked back to her, surprised by the change. She was smiling widely, and her arms were extended, though it was off to the left from where Yuu was standing by the stairs. The invitation was clearly meant for Jesse, not him. "Come here, it's been ages."_ _

__"Ten months ain't 'ages,'" Jesse chided as he stepped up onto the porch and gave Mama Maria a big hug. The hug lasted for quite some time before the two finally parted and Jesse spoke again. "It's good to see ya, Mama Maria. Sorry for comin' unannounced."_ _

__"No, no, it's alright," Maria said, waving him off, "You're always welcome here, Jessito."_ _

__"Aww, you're still usin' that nickname," Jesse said, and if Yuu didn't know better he would have sworn that there was a touch of embarrassment to those words._ _

__"You will always be my 'little Jesse', even if you are bigger than me now," Maria said, patting Jesse on the shoulder. It was true, Jesse had a good six inches in height on this woman, but somehow she felt just as tall as he was, if not taller._ _

__Next the woman clapped her hands, and she said, "To the dining room, children! Dinner is almost ready!"_ _

__The kids all ran into the house screaming, leaving Jesse and Yuu on the porch with this woman. That was done on purpose, Yuu realized a moment later. She wanted to talk to them without prying ears to overhear._ _

__"Now then," the woman said, "Who is your guest?"_ _

__Jesse moved to place a hand on Yuu's shoulder, a gesture that he found to make him feel a bit better. It might have been a bit cheesy, but it gave him strength. "Mama Maria," he said finally, "This here's Yuu. He's been travellin' with me for the last couple'a months."_ _

__"Hello," Yuu finally said, though he left it at that._ _

__Maria eyed Yuu carefully. This look wasn't as intense as the one from before, but it still felt like she was judging him. "He is travelling with you, or you are travelling with him?"_ _

__That drew a laugh from Jesse. "A bit of both, I suppose."_ _

__Maria let out a long 'hmmm' before she spoke once more. "Well I can't leave a guest standing here. Come on, you two, join us for dinner? And I can have rooms made for you two for the night, if you plan on staying."_ _

__"We'd appreciate that," Jesse answered, and he leaned in to give Maria a kiss on the cheek before ushering Yuu into the house._ _

__The house itself wasn't too impressive. Most of the actual 'house' structure had been repurposed into a large common area, filled with several couches and one large tv. The kitchen was still there, but the dining room was gone entirely, added onto the living room to increase its size. The actual dining room was in the first part of the extension, and it was actually quite large. If Yuu had to guess, it probably could hold a hundred children or more if need be. However, most of the large round tables sat unused. Only the three closest to the doorway to the rest of the house were set that evening: twenty-three place settings, with a couple children hastily moving chairs and bringing out more plates to account for Yuu and Jesse._ _

__All of the small children were there, scrambling up into chairs and claiming their seats for the night. As things were getting set up, older children started to filter into the room as well. Most of them were around 13-15, but at least two looked old enough to be adults. All of these older children took up seats at one table, a table clearly meant as the 'cool teenager' table. That said, one of the teenage boys did see Jesse and said, "Aww shit, Uncle Jesse's here?" and looked particularly remorseful over the fact that Jesse wouldn't be able to fit at the already-cramped teenager table._ _

__"Language!" That came from another older woman, one who was bringing out dishes full of food to set at the three tables. This one was a bit younger than Maria, with her wrinkles being not nearly as deep. Her hair also held onto a touch of it's former-brown color, with strands of it mixed in with the mostly-greying curls._ _

__"Sorry Mama Carol," the boy murmured, and the others around him snickered as he finally sat down._ _

__The dinner itself was nothing too special: meat, tomatoes, beans, and cheese wrapped up in tortilla shells. It seemed a little plain compared to the food he and Jesse had been eating on the road, but looks proved to be deceiving. For how few ingredients there were, the food was chock full of flavor, and before he knew it Yuu had eaten three of them. And that he only realized when Jesse was patting him on the back going, "Slow down there partner, you're gonna choke."_ _

__Yuu looked up, and he saw the kids at the table all watching him in wonder. He felt embarrassment burn on his cheeks, like he had just done a bit social mis-step or something. Something from the past poked at his mind, but it wasn't strong enough to get past that fog that was clouding his memories. No doubt it was a reminder of an embarrassing moment like this._ _

__"I supposed I should take that as a compliment," Maria said with a chuckle as she prepared a plate for one of the smaller children who could not serve themselves, "It must be good, for someone to eat so quickly."_ _

__Yuu quickly murmured an apology, which earned him another pat on the back from Jesse. "It's fine, sugarplum. You don't gotta be so formal here."_ _

__He was being formal, Yuu realized. Or rather, that was where the embarrassment had come from: his lack of being formal in his dining habits. Thinking back, Yuu had always eaten slowly and carefully, as if each meal was being carefully monitored for any slip-ups. He couldn't remember why he felt like that, but he could tell there was a reason for it, locked away within his memories._ _

__But Jesse was right, that formality and his embarrassment over not strictly following those preset patterns had no place here. This was a home, not a business dinner, so he could relax a little. "I'm so-" he stopped himself short of another apology and quickly changed his words, saying, "Thank you."_ _

__The corner of Maria's mouth twitched in a way that betrayed the fact that she was trying not to smile. "You're welcome, young man. Just be sure to leave some for the children."_ _

__Yuu nodded again, and he relaxed back into his seat._ _

__This was nice, he realized. Eating with a big group, watching everyone have their own side conversations, feeling like he was welcome in a place where nobody knew him, it was nice. No wonder Jesse was so attached to this place._ _


	7. 7

With dinner done and arrangements made for the night, Yuu thought everyone would be turning in and getting some rest. It was dark, after all, and while he and Jesse had never really gone to bed this early he could see where children would need the extra rest. However, he was quickly proven wrong when Jesse spoke up and said, "Well then! While the grownups are handling the cleanup, why don't you kids gather some firewood for a bonfire?"

That immediately got the younger children cheering and running out of the house. Carol shot Jesse a tired look, but before she could say anything Maria spoke up. "It's fine. How long has it been since we had a guest? And there's no school tomorrow, so the kids can stay up a bit later."

Jesse was moving dishes to the kitchen to be washed, but he stopped long enough to get Yuu's attention. "Why don't you go out and supervise 'em," he suggested, "Make sure they're not messin' around."

Yuu frowned. "I am perfectly capable of helping with the cleanup."

"I know you are sweetpea," Jesse answered, "But we got this. Go on ahead, I'll be out to start the fire in a bit."

Yuu still had an unsure look on his face, but he decided not to argue about it. It was Jesse's home, after all, and he was just a guest. Besides, Jesse never did anything without a reason, so perhaps it was best to just go along with it. Nodding, Yuu left the dish in his hands on the counter and went outside.

The teenagers weren't anywhere to be found—probably off doing their own thing, Yuu decided. While the younger children could be entertained by trivial things like a bonfire, he was sure the teenagers had their own things to keep them interested. The oldest of the kids participating, however, had managed to grab a few flashlights and were running around the courtyard, ushering the smaller children around. They had a method to their work, Yuu noticed. The youngest ones gathered up sticks and twigs for kindling, while the bigger ones carried larger pieces of wood over to the fire pit. They didn't set up the wood, though, instead opting to put it in piles near the fire pit.

The fire pit was pretty nice, actually. It was a small dip in the ground, surrounded by rocks and in a bare spot of dirt in the yard. Around it, a couple feet away on all sides, were well-used wooden benches. This fire pit had been loved by many children, it seemed. Given how eager the children were to have a bonfire, Yuu wasn't surprised by that. His mind conjured up the image of a bunch of kids sitting around a campfire and singing songs, though he wasn't quite sure where that image came from. Probably a movie or a book, as his own memories were still locked away tight.

By the time the children finished gathering the wood, Jesse was outside and already starting to stack it. It must have been a tradition or something, because he was very particular about how the wood was placed. The children just watched too, not stepping in to help unless Jesse asked them for something. Just like with the children and their wood-gathering, Jesse had a method. So far that method seemed to be 'toss the big pieces in a heap', but Yuu was willing to give Jesse the benefit of the doubt. Especially since he was clearly trying to show off, too. Yuu might have rolled his eyes at the antics, but he wasn't about to discourage that kind of bravado. Even if the 'showing off' meant Jesse was flexing a bit more than necessary for the physical labor he was doing.

The older children definitely noticed too, and Yuu caught two of the older girls—probably around 11 or so—snickering at Jesse's attempts to impress Yuu. In turn, Yuu just threw them a glance that said, 'I know, it's silly isn't it?' which drew more laughter from them.

"Are you talkin' about me behind my back," Jesse said accusingly as he set down another log. Yuu could tell he wasn't seriously upset about it or anything though, he was grinning even as he said that.

"Are you insinuating that you have done anything warranting such behavior," Yuu asked, matching Jesse's tone.

That got a few more laughs from the kids, and Jesse just waved Yuu off as he went back to stacking the wood.

Soon the pile was quite large, and Jesse was working on lighting the dry grass and smaller sticks at the base of the pile. He had left a gap underneath the bottom of the wood pile, one meant for letting air in to speed up the ignition process. It still took some time, though, and as Jesse got the fire going Yuu found himself with some kids sitting on the bench near him.

On his left was the girl with pigtails from before. She was sitting there, swinging her legs freely as she watched Jesse work. "He likes you," she said.

"Well we are friends," Yuu said, "I would hope that he likes me."

"No, he LIKE-likes you," the girl corrected, looking up to Yuu, "He has lots of friends, but he never brings anyone home. That means you're special."

Yuu smiled wryly at that. He had to admit, it did sound nice. He and Jesse got along really well. They complimented each other, in a way. Yuu didn't remember any past romantic trysts, but he just got the feeling that he had never done anything serious with anyone before. Having 'something' with Jesse sounded appealing, in a way.

But at the same time, he knew it wouldn't happen. Their journey together would have to come to an end eventually; either they would find out his identity in a Talon base, or they would come across someone who recognized him. Regardless of which one happened, they would part ways once they were done, and they wouldn't see each other again. There was a definite end point to their friendship, and wanting more beyond that was pointless.

Plus he was pretty sure that if things got serious between them that someone's heart would break in the end. Yuu wanted to spare Jesse from that, if he could.

"No, it just means we have been travelling together," Yuu said finally.

"What's that sweetpea," Jesse asked as he looked up.

Yuu shook his head in response. No, there was no need to tell Jesse about that short conversation.

\---

With the bonfire roaring, the kids all got out sticks to shove marshmallows onto. There was also a box of graham crackers, which the kids sandwiched the marshmallow between once they were done cooking. "Normally we'd have chocolate with it too," Jesse explained, "but that stuff's still pricey, so they don't keep any in the kitchen. Now I wish I'd gotten some on the way in."

"It is alright," Yuu said, "I think they are enjoying it regardless."

Jesse hummed in agreement as he turned his attention back to the kids, who were all busy roasting marshmallows and preparing their treats. Mama Carol insisted that each kid only get one, or else they would be up all night from the sugar intake, but Yuu definitely caught some of them taking a second or third. It was cute, he had to admit. It seemed like a fun pastime. For some reason he thought of baking a sweet potato in the embers of the fire, roasting it until it was hot and soft and ready to eat. But, as with most of his thoughts like that, he had no idea why he thought of it just then. Fortunately that feeling of 'I am thinking of this, but I have no idea why' was getting a bit less dizzying as time passed.

"So, what do you think," Jesse asked suddenly.

"About the bonfire?" Yuu wanted confirmation on that before he answered.

"About everything." Jesse swept his arm around to indicate to the buildings around them. "The home, the kids, the matrons, everything."

Yuu had to think on that for a bit. Jesse was clearly fond of this place, and he didn't want to upset him by being careless with his words. "It is nice," he said finally, "Cozy, perhaps. It feels like a home should feel."

Jesse nodded at that. "Yeah, that's what I always liked about this place. It's not a normal 'home' by any means, but the ladies in charge never let that stop 'em. They wanted all the kids to have as normal of a life as they could here."

He was curious now, Yuu had to admit. Before he could stop himself, he was asking, "What was it like, growing up here?"

"Well, I was one of the first kids here. I was about five or so when I got shipped here. Spots were fillin' up quickly though, there were just too many orphans back then. There were a few kids older than me, but in that first group we didn't have anyone older than ten or so, I think." Jesse paused as he considered that, scratching at his beard thoughtfully. "The older kids, they got sent somewhere else. The war was still goin' on, so I think they went to like…a boot camp kinda place? To prepare them for the war, I mean."

"Children in your position had to fight," Yuu asked. He could feel his brow crinkle with concern as he spoke too.

"Not kids, no. But once you were 18, most kids signed up to fight." Jesse gave Yuu a look, one that he couldn't quite place. It was like he was lost in the past. "You gotta remember, this was in the worst years of the Omnic Crisis. The war wasn't goin' so great stateside. Everyone thought we'd lose most of the west coast to the omnics, and that was a 'best case scenario' kinda thing. If you were healthy and old enough and weren't the sole provider for your family, you went off to war. That's just how it was. Overwatch was a little different, but the military took pretty much anyone old enough to join. And orphans, they didn't have many choices besides fightin'. "

Overwatch. Jesse had mentioned that group a couple of times, but he hadn't gone into detail. Yuu had done a bit of research on his own, but he had questions still poking at the back of his mind. Questions he was hesitant to ask, because based on what he had found things hadn't ended too well for that group. Instead, he went in another direction, asking, "Did you join the military?"

Jesse chuckled at that. "Nah, the war was over long before I turned 18. 'sides, I was runnin' on the wrong side of the law by then. They would've sent me to prison before handin' me a gun. I ended up somewhere else much better anyway."

"Did you," Yuu asked curiously.

"Yeah," Jesse said, and he smiled as he gazed at the fire and continued his story, "I was good enough for Overwatch to notice me. Best thing that ever happened to me, I'd say. Well, besides meetin' you."

Yuu scoffed at that, and Jesse just chuckled before continuing. "I gotta be honest, I wasn't exactly a good person before then. Too eager to prove myself, probably. I ran with a bad crowd, and I did quite a few things I ain't too proud of. But one day I got caught, and it was the bigwigs at Overwatch who gave me a choice: fight for the good guys, or go to prison."

It was pretty obvious what Jesse had chosen, so Yuu didn't bother asking. Instead, he said, "How did that work out for you?"

"Pretty well I'd say. Overwatch ain't around anymore, but I'd like to think it made me into a better person. I definitely don't run drugs or bully the poor anymore, at least." The smile slowly sank off of Jesse's face, and finally he sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I hate to admit it, but I kinda miss it. Bein' able to sleep in and go wherever I want is nice, but it don't compare to havin' a team you can count on to watch your back."

Yuu nodded in understanding. "Being alone isn't easy," he said, though he fell silent after that. He felt a pang of loneliness in his chest, one that drew him to the fog over his memories. Something important was in there, something he needed to remember, but he couldn't quite reach it. Any time he did, his fingers just slipped through that fog again. But the feelings of regret just wouldn't go away. Something terrible was locked up in there, and he needed to get at it.

Maybe if he could, then his memories would finally come back to him.

There was a bit of movement out of the corner of Yuu's eye, and he glanced over at Jesse again. Jesse had started to reach up with his hand, reaching across his body and towards Yuu. But as soon as he saw that Yuu was looking at him, he grew shy and pulled the hand back. Yuu raised an eyebrow at him, a silent question to which Jesse just shook his head. Then he reached out again, but this time it was towards the sticks laid out on the ground in front of the fire. "Here," he said, "lemme get a s'more for ya."

\---

That evening, time passed more quickly than Yuu would have liked it to. It seemed like they had just started with their ridiculous bonfire rituals (which were still ridiculous, even if Yuu did find some fun in them), but already the children were starting to yawn and rub at their eyes. They all claimed to not be tired, but at least one of them fell asleep in someone's lap, and that was when Jesse had checked his watch and confirmed that it was past 10 already. Not too late for two men traveling the countryside, but late enough for a bunch of children.

Yuu knew absolutely nothing about putting children to bed, so he was delegated the task of staying outside and keeping an eye on the kids while Jesse and the two older women worked together to haul off the already-sleeping ones. It was going to take a few trips, Yuu could tell, but thankfully the children were content to find their own ways to amuse themselves. Mostly with bits of gossip that Yuu only half-understood, since the children here spoke some bizarre mixture of English and Spanish. It was probably a matter of function, since everyone here seemed to be some level of bilingual, but using a pidgin language would be easier than staying in one language or the other.

"Just make sure they don't get hurt," Jesse told him, and he plopped one of the toddlers down in his arms. Yuu stared down at the child, then up to Jesse, his eyes clearly saying 'why did you give me this?' The lost look on Yuu's face drew a grin from Jesse, who just said, " 'salright darlin', just hold'em for a bit. He'll fall right asleep if you do that."

And then Jesse was off, stopping only briefly to pick up two sleeping children. The main building wasn't far away, thankfully, but it would still take a few minutes for Jesse to drag those kids up to their rooms. Yuu would just have to wait there for him to come back. Yuu was a patient man, though, he could wait for Jesse to come back.

The little boy in his arms, however, was having none of it. As soon as he was being held, the toddler started fussing and trying to wiggle out of Yuu's arms. "Be still, little one," Yuu said gently as he moved the child to be better-supported against his shoulder, rather than hanging around in outstretched arms. One arm moved to support his bottom, the other hand patted gently against the boy's back. It felt… automatic, like he had done that same thing thousands of times before. More of a muscle memory than an actual one. This did help a little, but the baby still made some whining noises as he moved closer to Yuu. Clearly this child wanted to be comforted in his sleep-deprived state.

A smile tugged at the corner of Yuu's mouth. It was almost cute, how this boy was fighting sleep so much. Yuu wouldn't have been surprised if this child fell asleep before Jesse returned. It was unexpected, how easily a child would fall asleep against him. It still came naturally after all these years, even though he hadn't taken care of a baby since…

Since…

_"Come here, my son."_

_He stepped closer to his mother, who was sitting in her favorite spot in the garden. From that porch they could watch the cherry blossoms fall for hours, and it was something he looked forward to every year. Nothing was quite as good as watching flower petals dance around the sky and fall gently to the ground._

_But today was not for flower viewing, and he knew it. His mother was not alone today. Instead, she had a small bassinet with her, one that was currently occupied by a sleeping child. An infant, so small inside such a snug bundle of blankets and fabric._

_"Do you know who this is," his mother asked._

_He shook his head._

_His mother extended her hand towards the bassinet, giving him permission to step closer and peer in. The boy sleeping there was small, so small. How could a baby be this small? He looked back to his mother curiously, silently asking her for an explanation._

_"This is your little brother," she said with a soft smile._

_He looked back down at the sleeping baby. A little brother? What did that mean?_

_"You are a big brother now," his mother said, placing a hand softly onto the top of his head, combing through his hair, "And big brothers protect their little brothers, no matter what. Do you think you can do that?"_

_He nodded. Yeah, he could do that. He could protect his little brother._

_No matter what._

"Yuu?"

Yuu snapped his head up suddenly. Jesse was there, standing in front of him, a look of concern on his face. Had he really zoned out for that long? He could still feel the weight of the child in his arms, so he hadn't dropped him. But something still had to be wrong, for Jesse to look at him like that.

Once Yuu was actually focused on Jesse, the cowboy spoke up again, his voice full of the same worry he carried in his face. "What's wrong? Why're you cryin'?"

Yuu blinked a few times, and then shifted the boy in his arms to his right arm so that he could reach up with the left. Two wet trails streaked down his face, all the way to his chin and beyond.

Ah. So that's why Jesse looked so concerned.

"I have a brother," Yuu said, his voice cracking from the effort of speaking, and the words definitely catching Jesse's attention if the way the cowboy leaned in closer was any indication, "I cannot recall his name, or what he looks like, but…I have a brother."

Tears stung at his eyes more fully now. He finally remembered something of his life before Talon. It was a brief glimpse, but it was something, and it carried the promise of more to come. And he had family too! It was some good news finally.

But if it was such good news, then why did his heart ache any time he thought about it?


	8. 8

_He was on a rocky island in the middle of the bay. Out past the waters behind him were sheer grey cliffs that offered no protection from the storm raging around him. The waters whipped up with the gusts of wind, slapping the rocks and splattering his legs with the salty spray. His clothing, a strange black outfit with gold accents that was both familiar and unknown to him at the same time, lashed about as the wind blew around him, bouncing off of the cliffs and echoing back in spurts. The yellow ribbon tying his hair up trailed behind him, only visible to him when the wind caught it from behind and blew it forward._

_Despite the rain and heavy waves soaking him through, he didn't feel cold or wet. He didn't feel anything, actually. It was as if his sense of touch was gone entirely._

_The sea in front of him spread on for miles, the water a dark murky color only a few shades darker than the cloud-covered sky. He couldn't tell what time of day it was, but there was enough light to see by, so 'day' seemed like a reasonable guess._

_Thunder cracked, and lightning flashed. The storm was picking up. Soon it would be too long for him to stand, but he didn't seem bothered by that. In fact, he wasn't even thinking about that._

_He was waiting._

_He didn't know what was coming, but he could feel it. The clouds, thick as the fog that had plagued his mind these past couple of months, were thinning. And as they thinned, something was going to come through them. He was sure of it._

_It felt like an eternity, but still he waited, watching the sky. Eventually—days, months, maybe even years later—the clouds finally parted enough that a blue glow could be seen through the concealing mists._

_'They' weren't here yet, but he could see them now, if only vaguely. They fought back against the fog, against the clouds, trying to push through. They were making progress, but they weren't quite there yet._

_'Call for us,' they said, 'We are waiting for you.'_

_'How,' he asked silently._

_'Call out our names, and we will come.'_

_'I do not remember you.'_

_A flash of lightning flickered across the clouds, followed by the crackle of thunder._

_'You must remember. They will take you away again if we cannot protect you.'_

_'Who will take me away?'_

_Images came to his mind. A spider crawling on its web. An elongated bleach-white skull, sunken beneath a black hood._

_'They will change you, like they did the others. They tried to already, but you escaped. If they get you back, they will finish what they started.'_

_More lightning, and more thunder. The waves were higher now, reaching up to his waist, nearly enough to knock him off the rocks entirely._

_'We will die if you forsake us. Call for us, young master, and fix this mess you made.'_

_He hesitated. 'I made this mess? What did I do?'_

_There was no answer for that. Instead, a wave washed over the rocky island, knocking him off of it entirely._

_He didn't even struggle as he was pulled down, down, down into the dark depths of the sea._

\---

Yuu woke up with a start. He sat up immediately and looked around the dark room, trying to find…he wasn't sure what, exactly. Something. Anything. But he was met with a dark room that was largely bare of trimmings. A small bit of light from the moon trickled in the window, giving him just enough light to make out indistinct shapes in the shadows, but he found nothing of use. The room was empty of any threats.

Normally when Yuu awoke—because he was an early bird and always managed to wake up before Jesse did—the sound of Jesse's snoring was more than enough to cover his quiet movements. But as he looked over to the other hotel bed right next to his, he could see that Jesse's eyes were open, and he was looking right at Yuu. He didn't say anything though, and it took a moment for Yuu to realize that Jesse was waiting for an all clear.

"It is alright," Yuu said finally rubbing at his face, "Nothing is wrong."

Jesse let out the breath he had been holding in, and he sat up in his bed. "Doesn't seem like nothin' if you're all startled like that."

"I am not 'startled'," Yuu said, the grouchiness sneaking into his voice before he could stop it, "It was a dream, nothing more."

"A bad dream," Jesse asked curiously.

Yuu opened his mouth to say 'no', but he stopped himself. Was it a bad dream? It certainly had woken him in a shock. But it wasn't bad in any way, not really. No, it felt more like someone was trying to tell him something. Something important. Finally he said, "No, not a bad dream. Just a dream."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Maybe when it is not-" Yuu glanced down to the glowing bedside clock. "-two in the morning."

"Shit, is it really that early?" Jesse leaned over and grabbed the clock, turning it slightly so that he could see the display. Just as Yuu had seen a moment ago, the display flashed '2:07 am'. Way too early to be up for the day, especially since they had only settled down to sleep about four hours ago.

So, Yuu settled back down into his bed, drawing the blankets up around him. They had been fortunate this time, at least this hotel had clean bedding. Many times they stopped at hotels that seemed less than reputable, and Yuu had to try not to think about all the stains on the walls, or the mildew in the bathrooms. Jesse wasn't made of money, and they had to stretch out what he had.

Sleep did not come easy, though. His mind was awake, buzzing with the memory of that dream. He needed to remember something- a name. Or was it two names? But those names just wouldn't come to him, not yet. The fog on his mind was still too thick, and trying to think about it just made it thicker. His previous memory had only come when he wasn't purposefully trying to access those memories locked away, so he suspected that the same would be true for everything else. To gain back his past, he would have to not think about it.

A monumental task, given that his entire driving force right now was 'find out who you are'.

"I can hear ya thinkin' over there," Jesse called out from his bed, "You sure you don't wanna talk?"

"No." Yuu let that hang there for a moment, figuring that was enough of an answer. He really didn't want to talk about his memories, not until he remembered more of them. But a moment later he decided that he was being a bit too snappish with Jesse, who was only trying to help. So he sighed, and he added, "In the morning. Not right now."

Jesse made a noise of agreement, but let that drop there. Yuu thought the discussion would be over, but he heard some shuffling from Jesse's side of the room, so he turned his body to see what Jesse was up to. In those few moments, the man had slipped all the way over to the far side of his bed, and he was lifting up his blanket. And if that wasn’t enough of an invitation, he added, "C'mon, get in here before the heat gets out."

Yuu stared at Jesse for a moment. The hotels they stayed at didn't always have two beds in one room, so they had shared a bed before. But that was always out of necessity, and they had slept back-to-back and mostly ignored each other throughout the night. And whenever a two-bed room was available, they always slept apart. Just what was Jesse getting at here?

As if Jesse could hear Yuu's thoughts, he spoke up again, saying, "You always sleep better when you're sharin'. Now c'mon."

That was true, Yuu had to admit. For all of Jesse's annoyances, sleeping right next to him actually made for a restful night. Even if the contact between them was minimal, it still left him rested and ready to go. If they were to have a discussion about Yuu's dreams, then he would need that rest.

Finally Yuu pulled himself out of bed, rolling over and planting his feet on the ground in the small space between the two beds. He took his pillow with him over to Jesse's bed, and as soon as he was under the covers he turned himself so that his back was to Jesse. Jesse responded in kind, letting the blanket fall over Yuu before turning so that his back was against Yuu's. Then Jesse uttered a single "g'night" before sinking back into sleep.

Once again, Jesse was proven right. Yuu managed to fall asleep pretty quickly after that, sinking into sleep as he felt Jesse's sleeping breaths through their touching backs. He wouldn't admit to how comforting it was, to feel Jesse's body pressed against his own. He didn't want to get that personal with Jesse.

When he awoke to the next morning, he found that Jesse had shifted at some point in the night. Instead of being back-to-back, Jesse had his chest pressed up against Yuu's back, with an arm slung lazily over Yuu's waist. It didn't mean anything, Yuu was sure of that. Jesse had just rolled over in his sleep and curled up right next to the body laying with him. A natural reaction to sharing a bed, one that probably should have happened sooner, given how they did share a bed from time to time.

But just as he wouldn't admit to being comfortable sharing a bed with Jesse, he _definitely_ wouldn't admit to wanting to stay right there in his arms, basking in the warmth of their blanket-cocoon as the morning ticked away.


	9. 9

For the second day in a row, Jesse and Yuu were late to get on the road. This time they really didn't have any excuses either. Yesterday had been devoted to gathering supplies and making a few phone calls in Phoenix, but today they were on the road and actually headed back west.

Until they started going northwest, at least. A move which made Yuu frown as he watched the highway junction sign go past them. "Another detour," he asked, though his flat voice was a dead giveaway for how he felt about that."

"Sorry darlin'," Jesse said, though he didn't sound too sorry about it, "We gotta make a stop in Las Vegas before heading out to Los Angeles."

"Are we off to meet more of your family," Yuu asked dryly.

"Not quite," Jesse said with a chuckle.

Yuu waited a moment for Jesse to elaborate, but no answer came. A quick glance in Jesse's direction told him that Jesse wouldn't be giving up that information freely, either. The infuriating cowboy seemed content to just drive on, keeping his eyes on the mostly-empty highway. So Yuu sighed and said, "What are we going to Las Vegas for, then?"

The corner of Jesse's mouth twitched up. "A bit of fun," he said, "And a bit of work. You'll find out when we get there."

If the previous road marker was anything to go by, they had about 250 miles before they got to their destination. That was a good half-days' worth of driving, And given that it was already midday they would probably have to stay in Las Vegas for the night. That couldn't be cheap, Yuu reasoned. He didn't know if he had ever been to Las Vegas or not, but he did know a bit about the city. Basic knowledge, mostly. It was a city for gambling and live shows, and it ran on extravagance. What kind of work could Jesse have there?

The long drive gave Yuu more time to think, though. Unfortunately, his thoughts were presently occupied by one thing: that dream. It still made little sense to him, but it felt like it was important. He needed to figure it out, it was the key to…something. Something he couldn't quite reach.

"You got that thousand-yard stare again," Jesse said suddenly. Yuu glanced over at him again, but Jesse's eyes were still on the road. It made Yuu scoff at it—how could Jesse tell what he was up to if he was watching the road—but he didn't comment on it. Instead, he kept quiet as he propped his arm up on the little lip of the truck door, right where the window and door connected. He watched the scenery go by, but he still kept his thoughts on the dream.

The rocky island in the middle of the sea. The sheer cliffs. The whipping wind, and th stormy sea.

A storm…

"Thunder," Yuu muttered under his breath, "and lightning."

Two things happened within the next few seconds. First, Yuu's left arm began to glow a bright blue, so bright that the light went right through his jacket sleeve as if it weren't even there. Then, there was the crackled of lightning and the pop of thunder as the glow lifted off of his arm, projecting a pattern that matched the tattoo there. Finally, that blue light split in two, and each of the two light sources became solid.

Suddenly, less than two seconds after he had said those words, there were two real, honest-to-god blue dragons.

They looked sort of like ferrets, Yuu realized. Long, skinny, and just a touch fuzzy. But they were both bright blue, and they seemed to be glowing on top of that. Each was about two and a half feet long, and they wound their way around Yuu's left arm as if they belonged there. Which they did, Yuu realized with a shock. They were his tattoo come to life.

They were his dragons.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ!"

The truck swerved suddenly, nearly rolling as it shot off towards the side of the road. Yuu braced himself against the dashboard, which in retrospect was probably a bad idea because his arms would have been hurt by the air bag if it went off. Plus for a moment there it looked like they were about to go into the ditch, which actually did get Yuu to start screaming. Then Jesse over-corrected in the other direction, spinning them right around before the truck came to a stop near the right breakdown lane of the highway.

Several cars sped by, honking their horns as they went past.

"What are you doing," Yuu shouted at Jesse, whirling on him as if this was entirely his fault. The two dragons on his arm had since scurried up onto his shoulders and were curling up on him, though it was hard to pay attention to them when they were in the middle of highway traffic.

"What the _hell_ did you just do," Jesse snapped back. He pointed at one of the dragons currently perched on Yuu's shoulder. "Where did those things come from?!"

"I don't know, they just appeared," Yuu said quickly as he turned to look out the back window. That definitely didn't help with the sense of panic, though, as he saw all of the traffic driving up fast on them.

Several cars swerved around them, mere inches separating them from a horrible wreck. Horns blared, drawing Yuu's attention this way and that. He felt the panic rising in his chest, forcing his breath to come in short spurts.

This was bad. They would get hit if they stayed there.

A particularly loud, long horn drew Yuu's attention to the lane directly behind them. It was a semi-truck, and a rather large one at that. Unlike the smaller cars and trucks on the road, this one didn't even try to swerve out of the way. It was just laying on its horn as it barreled down the highway at them.

Yuu didn't even try to control his voice as he smacked Jesse's seat with his hand and yelled, "GO!"

That spurred Jesse into action, at least. Jesse quickly grabbed the wheel again, turning it sharply to turn the truck back towards the right side of the road. He gunned it, tires spinning as they fought to get traction on the road. Finally the truck rolled off the highway, just barely missing the semi that would have smashed them into pieces.

Of course, Jesse had to immediately slam on the brakes to keep them from rolling into the ditch. That effort caused the truck to make a hideous sound before the engine outright died, leaving them with a smoky truck, two frazzled humans, and two amused dragons.

_'He's not a very good driver, is he?'_

_'No, Master should take over, he's better at it.'_

_'Maybe we could drive instead!'_

Their conversation was interesting, mostly because Yuu was sure these dragons weren't actually speaking real words. The words that he 'heard' were just appearing in his mind unbidden, not unlike how the voices contacted him in the dream. Out in the 'real world', so to speak, there was just the sound of indistinct small animal chattering.

Yuu slumped down in his seat, suddenly exhausted after that near-death experience. He didn't even have the energy to turn his head, he just glanced at Jesse as best as he could from that angle.

Jesse had slumped forward as soon as they were stopped. He wasn't dead, Yuu could see his back rise and fall with the quick breaths he was taking in. But his forehead was resting on the steering wheel, and his arms had gone slack. Yuu almost wondered if Jesse had passed out, but a moment later he realized that his breathing was too quick for someone unconscious. No, he was probably awake. Just taking in what almost happened, maybe.

They both sat there for some time, reeling from what just happened. The adrenaline rush followed by the immediate drop off had left them both wound up and exhausted at the same time, and they needed some time to just breathe and recover. They cast a few glances at each other, but otherwise remained silent. No words needed to be said anyway, Yuu could tell that Jesse understood just how close of a call that had been.

Ultimately, it was Jesse who spoke first. "Jesus fuckin' Christ, you sure do know how to scare a guy." It wasn't nearly as playful as Jesse's words usually were, but Yuu could tell he was trying to lighten the mood a bit. Maybe it was an automatic reaction on his part to joke around in a life-or-death situation like that. It certainly would fit with his 'laid back' appearance, at least.

"To be fair," Yuu said slowly, "You didn't have to stop the truck."

Jesse scoffed at that. " 'You didn't have to stop the truck' he says. As if two goddamn dragons appearing like that ain't worth stoppin' for." After saying that, Jesse cracked open an eye and held out his right hand for one of the dragons to sniff at, much like how a human would let a cat smell them before attempting to pet it.

Yuu watched the display curiously. One of the dragons sniffed at Jesse's hand, then turned to the other and nudged at it. The other leaned forward to sniff at Jesse's hand next, and pulled back just like the first had. Then the two had a conversation between themselves, speaking as if there weren't two humans right there listening to them.

_'He smells dirty.'_

_'Cowboys are supposed to smell dirty.'_

_'I bet Master likes him. So straight-laced, but he always had a thing for 'bad boys'.'_

The conversation drew a snort from Yuu. So now they apparently knew him better than he did? Then again, apparently they could see the memories Yuu couldn't quite reach yet. Perhaps they did know him better than he knew himself. That brought back those intrusive thoughts that had been plaguing him for months now, but this time he pushed them away. He didn't want to keep falling into that trap of anxiety and self-loathing, it never helped.

Instead, he simply said, "They are quite talkative," as he reached up with his free hand to scratch one of them behind the ears, a move which drew a sound of approval from that dragon.

"I'm not surprised," Jesse said. This time he reached up and scratched the other dragon, which also earned him a happy noise. "Midori was like that too. She never shut up about anything. Then again, I think Genji encouraged it."

Both of those names picked at Yuu's mind in a rather uncomfortable way. He knew that they were Japanese names, and rather common ones at that. Perhaps he had known people who went by those names before? But the more he tried to think about it, the deeper the fog got. 'Genji' in particular drew a rather constricting, painful fog out, one that made Yuu's breath catch in his throat. Something about the way his mind reacted to it was worrying, and Yuu couldn't even begin to figure out why.

Jesse must have noticed the reaction, because he stopped petting the dragon and said, "You alright sweetpea?"

"I am fine," Yuu said, perhaps a bit too quickly, "I am just curious as to why you are not bothered by the presence of these two."

Jesse did not believe Yuu there. He could see it in the man's deep brown eyes. That worry carried through them, even as Jesse tried to smile and accept Yuu's refusal to speak about it. 'Another time, then' is the feeling Yuu got from them. Jesse was going to remember this and bring it up later, he was sure of that. Yuu just hoped he could come up with a good answer by then.

"Genji's my best friend," Jesse said, speaking calmly as he held a hand out to the dragon in front of him. The dragon didn't go to him entirely, but it did nuzzle up against the hand, clearly charmed by Jesse. Yuu couldn't blame the beast, honestly, because Jesse was quite the charmer indeed. "We were in Overwatch together. He's a tough bastard, lemme tell you. And he had a little green dragon called Midori. She was just as tough as he was, but she had a cheeky side too. She always caused trouble for him. I think he liked the trouble she caused, though. She was the only family he had left at that point."

Now Yuu was curious. He always liked hearing about Jesse's past, but this in particular felt important. Another human with a dragon? How common were they? "Do you think he and I might be related somehow?"

"It's possible," Jesse admitted, "He came from a pretty big family. But y'know, I don't think the dragon-thing was specific to his bloodline. To his clan, maybe, but not specifically blood relatives." He let out a little huff of amusement. "If you really are part of the Shimadas, then that'll be somethin'. Genji's spent the last eight years dead as far as they're concerned."

"That information would likely be in my Talon file," Yuu suggested, "When we find that information-"

"-then we'll find out if you're from his clan or not," Jesse said, finishing the sentence for Yuu.

It was a move in the right direction, at least. Find his identity, and if this Genji person was a part of it then maybe he could help Yuu regain his memories. The thought left Yuu's stomach in knots, and not in a good way either. Instead of feeling like he was getting closer to the answer he wanted, he felt like Pandora facing a box that was warning him away. Did he know Genji, but have a bad experience with him?

Jesse didn't sound particularly happy about it either, something that was not lost on Yuu. And truth be told, it was a lot easier for Yuu to voice his reservations if he went at it from that angle instead of voicing his own opinions. "You do not sound happy about that."

With a sigh, Jesse scratched at the back of his neck as he started to explain. "I gotta be truthful here: Genji's family is kind of a shithole. They were rotten to the core, you know? They tried to have him killed when he wouldn't follow along with their plans. It left him pretty messed up too. And if you're a part of that, then that means either you're some poor bastard caught in that shitty family too, or you're just as rotten as they are."

Yuu swore he could have felt his heart leap into his throat. He didn't want to believe that the fog in his mind hid the memories of a terrible person. Even if he only had his instincts and skills to go by right now, Yuu felt like he had to be a good person. His goals were a bit self-centered right now, but it wasn't like he felt the urge to do evil things or anything. Could he be a bad person? Was that the secret that his memories held?

He glanced down at the two dragons still perched on his arm. "Well," he said, "Do you two know anything?"

_'Of course we do!'_

"Then could you share with us?"

_'Nope!'_

"Why not?"

_'You're not ready yet.'_

_'We only just got you back, we don't want to break you again.'_

_'You'll remember when you're ready.'_

With a little huff of irritation, Yuu looked up to Jesse. "They are quite unhelpful, aren't they?"

"I wouldn't know, I can't hear 'em," Jesse said with a grin.

Yuu blinked a couple times, surprised by that answer. "Didn't you just say your friend's dragon was talkative?"

"Talkative with _Genji_ ," Jesse specified, "And he always translated it for me. But those little ferrets sound like squeaky toys to me."

That got a round of squeaky protests from the two dragons.

_'We're not squeaky toys!'_

_'So rude! Master, kick him out!'_

"Such indignant beasts," Yuu said with a chuckle.

The two dragons could tell that they had lost this battle, and they let out some more angry chatter before merging with the tattoo on his arm, returning to their previous state. This time, though, Yuu could still feel the buzz of electricity under his skin, even after they settled. Previously he had been ignorant to their existence, but now that he knew they were there he could feel them lurking just under his skin. It was an unusual feeling, but not completely unfamiliar to him. He must have been living with them before he lost his memories, then.

"I think we offended them," Yuu said, giving Jesse a grin to match the one from before.

"Eeh, they'll be back," Jesse said with a shrug, "It's not like they can go too far anyway. Just try not to summon 'em in the car anymore, okay?"

"I will strive to keep from surprising you again," Yuu said, "So long as you keep us on the road and out of a crash."

Jesse sat up straight, and for a moment he almost looked offended, but then a flash of realization sparked across his face. That was quickly accompanied by a cheeky smile as he said, "It looks like you can joke around after all, Yuu."

"I am not completely humorless," Yuu said smugly. He settled back down into his seat, ready to get on the road again.

He tried not to think about the warmth in his chest as they drove, either. The warmth caused not by his dragons, but by how nice his name sounded when Jesse was the one saying it.


	10. 10

Yuu looked down to the ten crisp $100 bills in his hand. A thousand dollars. It was a lot of money, given the lifestyle the two of them had been living so far, but somehow it still didn't feel like enough. He needed to grow this into enough to get them all the way to the west coast, or at least to enough to make him look like he wasn't a hopeless fool. 

Sure, Jesse probably would accept him back even if he lost everything. But that wasn't the point here. Yuu had to prove his worth. He had to show that he could carry his own weight.

He stuck the money into his pocket and started out to the main floor of the casino. There were plenty of slot machines everywhere, but Yuu bypassed them immediately. No, those things sucked down money like it was water. He needed to get into a table game to get the best odds. And judging by how packed the tables were, he wasn't the only one who knew that. Blackjack was right out, there wasn't a single spot anywhere on them. So were craps and roulette, all ten of the tables devoted to those games were packed. Poker was similarly full, though he could spot a couple open seats among the various tables. They were all at the more expensive tables, though, with the cheapest one being a $20 minimum bet.

If he did poorly, he would blow through that money in less than an hour. But on the other hand, he could walk away with more than enough from just a few good hands. High risk, but high reward.

Yuu slipped into the last seat at the $20 table. Most of the players were to his left, but there was one rather irritated-looking man to his right as well. He didn't pay the man much mind, and instead just exchanged most of his money for chips. Forty chips were in front of him by the time he was done, though that number seemed small compared to the large stacks the others had. His suit made him look like he belonged, but his shallow pocketbook sold him out.

The other players looked like card sharks, and Yuu was sure they could smell chum in the water.

Yuu stayed mostly quiet as he played. His first few hands were terrible, so other than his buy-ins he didn't bother betting, folding as soon as the bets started to rise. No, he had to play the long game, he decided. Bluffing his way with a bad hand was a bad idea when his betting pool was so small. He needed to wait for a decent hand before he made any moves.

Once again Yuu found himself surprised by his wellspring of knowledge despite the lack of memories to back up those talents. Just what kind of life had he lived before, that he would know so much about both fighting and gambling?

The fifth hand showed some promise. Three nines, king-high. It wasn't a great hand, but it was better than the other crap he had been getting before. When the bet started raising, Yuu actually called for once. 

"Finally got something," One of the other men said, goading Yuu a bit.

Yuu hummed thoughtfully in response, but said nothing.

In the end, Yuu actually wound up winning that hand. It wasn't a huge win, most of the people had bailed on that hand right away after he had called instead of folding, but it was enough to get him up to nearly $1,200. Still a long ways off from where he needed to be, but it was a start.

Time passed, and the group kept playing the game. Yuu was bouncing back and forth between $800 and $1,300, making no huge gains or losses in that time. The player to his right eventually gave up and left, leaving the seat open for a few hands. Yuu paid it little mind, though. He was focused on his mission, on making enough money to give to Jesse to fund the rest of their trip. He wouldn't be beaten by a game, of all things.

"You still haven't learned to lighten up, have you?"

Yuu snapped to attention and looked to his right. A woman in a purple dress with matching tips in her hair was sitting there. Her eyes were on her purse, where she was busy pulling out quite a bit of money to exchange for chips, but despite not even looking at Yuu her attention was solely focused on him. She was…strange. And familiar, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. Another phantom from his past, perhaps?

Cautiously, Yuu said, "Have we met before?"

The woman snorted. "Uh, yeah? We only worked together for like a year. Though I guess you don't remember any of that, do you?"

Yuu was hesitant, but he slowly shook his head. The woman placed the money on the table, and the dealer took it to count out for chips. While she waited, the woman glanced over to Yuu. She had a dangerous look about her, one that seemed to scream 'I'm in this for myself'. Was she really a co-worker? Or just someone here to cause him trouble?

"I figured not. Gabe tried to warn you, you know. If you don't play by the rules, then poof!" The woman made a small exploding gesture with her hand. "They'll just change the software to get what they want. That 'honor' thing really doesn't work out well when you're working for the bad guys, you know."

"The bad guys," Yuu said questioningly.

"The man in the shadow. The manipulators. The ones who move the pieces." The dealer passed the chips to the woman, who took them and started to arrange them into a pile. "I guess I shouldn't be _too_ hard on you though. They had been after you for years. It's only lucky that you agreed at the start, they would have thrown you right into the re-education process if you hadn't. Then your cowboy-friend wouldn't have found you in time."

The cards were dealt out and the betting started, but Yuu felt a chill within him and was too unfocused to even pick up his cards. "Who are you," He said, this time speaking a bit more firmly. Whoever this woman was, she knew way too much to not be a danger. Someone who knew about both him AND Jesse? And could tie Talon into all of it? Dangerous.

"Just think of me as an old friend," the woman said with a wink before tossing a chip onto the betting pile, "Cards up, dragon-boy. It's your turn."

Yuu scrambled to pick up his cards, but he barely paid attention to what they were. After tossing a chip in, he said, "What do you intend to do here, then?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to check up on an old friend and make sure his head wasn't scrambled." The woman tossed another chip into the pot, and waited until Yuu did the same before speaking again, "You're really dull now, you know? I mean, you were pretty uptight before, but at least you knew how to tell a joke or two."

Then the woman laid down her cards. Four sevens, plus a king. It was only then that Yuu actually looked at his cards and saw that he had jack-all for a hand, and he just had to watch as the woman pulled all of the chips in to add to her stacks. "But you still get distracted easily," she said cheekily, counting her chips.

Yuu fumed silently in his seat. Whoever this woman was, she was playing him for a fool. Was she just some hustler trying to push his buttons? But no, she knew too much about him. She had to be legit, right? She couldn't have just found this information in a file somewhere, it had to be real. 

But if she was from Talon and talking with him, did that mean other Talon agents were nearby?

The woman seemed to be able to read his mind, or at least his movements. As soon as he tensed up, the woman said, "Relax. I told them you were headed over to Los Angeles. Don't go there, by the way, they have traps set up for you. They really do want their precious dragon back."

Another hand, and more cards for Yuu to pick up. This time he actually looked at them, and he saw that his hand wasn't half bad. Two fives, two eights, and a queen. It was an easy hand to beat, but it was better than the nothing he had thrown down for just a few moments ago. When the betting reached him, he called, staying in the hand. "What do you want, then?" She had to be here for a reason, 'checking in on a friend' was a shitty excuse for covering his tracks.

"Like I said, you and me go way back." Upon seeing the flat look on Yuu's face, she amended her statement. "Okay, okay, not WAY back. Just a little back. But you know, next to Gabe you're probably the most decent person that actually went through that program. And I might owe you a favor or two."

She tossed in a few more chips, which Yuu met immediately with chips of his own. "I wouldn't have remembered those favors, you know."

"I know, but _I_ remember them. And I'm only as good as my word is." Something about the way she said that made Yuu think her word actually wasn't that good, but he didn't say that out loud. Let her think she was doing a favor, he figured. Maybe she would talk more.

And indeed, she did. With a few gestures of her hand, she said, "So, I'm clearing the slate. Giving us a fresh start, so to speak. You don't want to go back to Talon, and I don't want to have some chump holding a few favors over my head for the foreseeable future. So, this is how we'll do it." Another round of calling, and the dealer was asking for the players to show their hands. Sombra laid down hers: two kings, and that was it. "First, I give you and your little boyfriend a head start to get out of this area and go into hiding. It'll be a week before they realize you're not coming to L.A., so use that time wisely. Second-"

The dealer cleared his throat, and Yuu laid down his cards. Two fives, three sixes. A full house.

…wait, when had that happened?

The dealer pushed the pile of chips towards Hanzo as everyone else at the table—minus the woman—grumbled at his luck. Yuu's eyes went wide as he realized just how much money he had actually won. There had to be over two hundred chips in that pile, and with each of them being worth $20, that was over $4,000! That was a huge chunk of money, well more than he had even touched in ages.

Yuu's stunned silence was broken by the woman speaking up once more. "That should get you started on your gambling tonight. Just don't spend it all in one place. They Fairy God-hacker is all out of favors to give tonight."

And then she walked off, giving Yuu a little wave as she sauntered away.

\---

Yuu stood quietly on the balcony, looking out over the city. It was night now, and many residents were moving off to sleep. Some remained awake, going about their business, but it was pretty clear that things were dropping off a bit. Even the concerts had ended a couple hours ago, and the fans had long since gone back to their hotel rooms. 

Still, Yuu found himself smiling down at the scene below. This city really was pretty, he decided. The lights were something else. 

It was a shame that he wouldn't be able to come back here, he thought to himself.

"Like the view?"

Yuu turned slightly to look behind himself. Jesse was there, leaning against the frame of the sliding glass door and smiling fondly. At that, Yuu offered a little smile of his own as he motioned for Jesse to join him. That was more than enough, apparently, because a moment later Jesse stepped out on the little balcony and joined Yuu by leaning against the railing.

"It's beautiful," Yuu admitted, "It's like a shining sea of lights." It was…familiar, but different. Yuu may not have been to this particular city before, but he got the feeling that he had lived in an urban location like this before. 

"Yeah, it leaves me breathless every time I see it," Jesse admitted. A moment later, though, he grinned as he added, "That's not the only sight leaving me breathless tonight though."

Yuu scoffed at that remark as he rolled his eyes. It wasn't in a hurtful way, though. There was a sense of amusement to his actions. Jesse was flirting, but somehow Yuu found it endearing for once. Or maybe he always had, and he was just now realizing it. Regardless, Yuu knew that this ridiculous man meant well, so he didn't get huffy at his words. Instead, he pulled out the roll of bills he had collected throughout the night. Sixteen thousand, eight-hundred and forty dollars. The woman had certainly given him the push he had needed to do well at poker, it seemed.

He held the wad of cash out to Jesse as he said, "Here. I had quite the lucky night."

Jesse let out a long whistle as he said, "It sure seems like it." But instead of taking the money, he held out his hand and pushed it back towards Yuu gently. "Be sure to make it last, if you get caught gambling too much they start watichin' you. That's how you end up on lists."

Yuu frowned, his brows furrowing in confusion. "You do not want it?"

"Nah. That's your money, Yuu. You earned it fair 'n' square." Jesse's smile seemed far warmer than it had any right to be. "Hell, you did well enough to get 'em to comp us this room too. I'd say that's more than enough to make up for what I gave you at the start. So keep it. That's your paycheck."

"Jesse…" Yuu was, honestly, touched. It was instant recognition of everything Yuu had been trying to do. Jesse saw him as an equal, capable of doing his own work and bringing something to the table. Yuu wasn't just some dead weight Jesse was dragging around. He wasn't a burden. He actually mattered.

Suddenly Yuu was all too aware of how close Jesse was to him. Even if they were standing side-by-side, Yuu had been unconsciously leaning in close, so that he wasn't that far away from Jesse at the moment. Almost as soon as Yuu realized it, Jesse seemed to realize it as well, and his warm smile changed to something…different. A bit more vulnerable. More heated.

This time, Yuu didn't wait for Jesse to make the first move. He leaned in, pressing his lips against Jesse's gently, letting his eyelids slide shut as he did so. He could have sworn that he felt sparks fly across his lips as he felt Jesse respond to the kiss, meeting Yuu's efforts with a bit of force of his own.

It was a brief moment, one that ended with the two of them pulling away to re-evaluate their feelings for each other. But as Yuu's mind raced with a hundred different things, he silently swore he would never forget that first kiss between them, no matter what came after that moment.

Or the second, he added silently as he leaned back in for another go.


	11. 11

He really should warn Jesse, Yuu thought to himself as the pair ate breakfast together. After last night, there was no denying that he was attached to this strange cowboy that had come barreling into his life so suddenly. The thought of something bad happening to him, all because Yuu hadn't spoke up? That was a terrifying one. 

Previously, Yuu had accepted trouble as it came. Reaper pursuing them, the car incident, those things had been startling. But once the danger had passed, Yuu had been fine. He only had his life to worry about, and once his safety was assured he didn't worry. But now he had another life to worry about, someone precious to him that could be lost at any moment. With the threat of Talon descending on them looming in the distance, Yuu could feel a heavy weight in the pit of his stomach.

He had to protect Jesse. No matter what happened, Jesse had to be safe.

"You alright, pumpkin?"

Yuu glanced up from his plate. Jesse was sitting across from him, watching him with a worried look. Yuu offered a small smile, some reassurance that everything was alright, before he said, "It's nothing. Just some thoughts, nothing more."

Jesse set his fork down as he said, "You wanna talk about it?"

At that, Yuu hesitated for a moment. He should tell Jesse. He should warn him.

But Jesse seemed so happy now…

"It is alright," Yuu said finally.

He had six more days to figure out how to say it.

\---

"Will ya look at that!" Jesse indicated up to one of the signs on the strip.  
Yuu glanced up and read the flickering sign. It was in good repair, but it couldn't seem to decide if it was dark enough yet to turn on the lights or not. Still, he was able to read the sign just fine: 'TONIGHT: ELVIS TRIBUTE SHOW'. Yuu glanced back at Jesse with a raised eyebrow as he said, "Another cowboy?"

"Not quite," Jesse said as he looped his arm around Yuu's, "He's the king of rock. He helped make a whole genre of music popular 'round these parts. C'mon, let's see it tonight."

That nagging doubt bit at the back of Yuu's mind again. If they stayed for the show, then it would be late by the time it was done. Too late to start driving. They would need to stay in Las Vegas for another night.

Yuu smiled warmly at Jesse, pushing those fears back once more. "If that is what you want to do, then I will come as well." He had been making an effort to try new things and all, so it seemed right to try this.

Besides, he still had five more days. It would be alright.

\---

It was well past noon, and yet Yuu was only starting to get out of bed. The show had run really late, and then the pair had gotten some alcohol and snacks, and then a couple hours of watching whatever was on tv, and Yuu was sure they hadn't gotten to sleep until 5 am at the very earliest. He definitely remembered seeing streaks of light blue poking up over the horizon has he had fallen asleep nestled up next to Jesse. 

Yuu finished trimming up the shaved parts of his beard, and after he hit the 'off' switch on the clippers he glanced back through the bathroom door and over to the bed. Jesse was still fast asleep, drooling on the pillow. A smile crept up onto Yuu's face, his eyes twinkling with fondness. 

He would let Jesse sleep in. They still had four days, getting some rest would be alright.

\---

_'There's a foul stench in the air'_

_'Don't be so dramatic, brother!'_

_'Well he needs to know! He's been ignoring it and now bad stuff's coming!'_

_'He finally found a mate, leave him be! Maybe we'll finally get some pups to raise. He's not getting any younger, you know.'_

_'Two guys like them can't have kids like that, idiot!'_

"I am _right here_ ," Yuu said dryly, though the flat look on his face did nothing to deter the two chattering dragons who had taken over the small hotel room table he was trying to eat his dinner at. Jesse's snickering did nothing to deter them either, but it at least gave Yuu a distraction from having to listen to his dragons complain about impending doom and his love live at the same time. "I need better companions. Let's go to a pet store and find some ferrets."

Jesse's snickering turned into actual laughter at that, and the pair of dragons on the table quickly turned their attention from their argument to Yuu himself.

_'You wouldn't dare!'_

_'We're your guardian spirits, you can't replace us!'_

_'We'll just eat the ferrets, so there!'_

"You are already full-up from eating my dinner," Yuu pointed out, indicating to the empty takeout boxes on the top of the dresser. He and Jesse could eat a lot, but not ten full pints of food. Most of that had gone to the dragons, while Jesse had hoarded the beef and snow peas for himself and Yuu had claimed some kind of spicy chicken dish in the battle for food. He stuck his chopsticks into his container and used that free hand to bap both of his dragons on their heads as he said, "Be calm, you won't be replaced."

"It sounds to me like you've got two kids to take care of now," Jesse said, an amused tone laced through his words.

"They certainly are childish," Yuu muttered under his breath, which merely renewed the chittering from his dragons.

_'YOU'RE the childish one!_

_'We're thousands of years old!'_

"Perhaps you should start acting your age then-"

Yuu didn't get to finish his scolding. All of a sudden an alertness buzzed into his mind, a sense that something was _wrong_. His dragons froze, and then they split up. One dove for Yuu's chest, latching onto his shirt. The other wrapped itself around Jesse's face, partially muffling his surprised yelp. Both men flung themselves backwards in response, Yuu hitting a wall with the back of his chair and Jesse tumbling to the floor.

A moment later, a gunshot tore through the window to their hotel room, showering all four of them with shattered glass. 

Yuu dove to the floor, keeping one of his arms up to protect his face from the glass. Instincts kicked right in. Stay low, stay out of sight, check on the others. He could feel Thunder and Lightning there, so he knew they were fine. That left one other. "Jesse!"

"I'm fine," came the shout from the other side of the room, just behind the bed, "Just gimme a- damnit, get off of me already!"

_'Master! I protected your mate! He is only bleeding a little bit!'_

'Only a little bit,' he repeated in his mind in exasperation. Though he could only be so upset with his dragons right now, since they had just saved both of their lives and all. Glancing up, he saw a bullet hole in the door to the bathroom, which was where Jesse had been sitting just a moment ago. 

Talon, he realized suddenly. Of course they wouldn't try to kill Yuu, they wanted him alive. But Jesse…

"We need to get out of here," Yuu said to Jesse, "Can you move?"

By now Jesse had gotten Lightning off of his face, and he was inspecting his body. There were a few claw marks on him, but otherwise he was fine. The bed had protected him from the worst of the glass. "Yeah," he said, "But getting outta here is gonna be a bitch and a half with a sniper watching us."

"I can handle that," he said, and he held his hand out for Lightning to come back to him. The dragon scampered over, meeting its twin in Yuu's arms. Once they were together, Yuu gave his instructions. "We need a distraction. Can you two provide that?"

_'Sure!'_

_'That's what we're good at. Besides eating stuff, I mean.'_

_'But don't go too far! If you get too far away from us, we disappear and come back to you.'_

The dragons jumped out of his arms and crawled out of the window, off to make their mischief.

"Where'd those two go," Jesse asked.

"Off to distract our sniper," Yuu said, "Just wait, and stay out of sight. We'll know when something happens." Hiding behind that curtain was a pain, it was making Yuu's limbs stiff. But he had to stay out of sight until he got the signal.

About a minute later, there was a burst of gunshots outside, but none came into the room. Yuu took that as their cue, and he hurried over to the bed where Jesse was. "We need to go," he said, "It's Talon."

Jesse had been taking this pretty serious already, but as soon as Yuu said 'Talon' Jesse's face tensed up. "Shit," he said, "I thought we'd have more time."

"So did I," Yuu admitted, and once again the guilt was starting to eat at him.

"Darlin'?"

He had to tell him. No more secrets. 

Yuu took in a breath, and then he said, "I knew they were coming. I was warned our first night here."

Jesse let out a curse at that. "Shit, why didn't you tell me?!" This was something new, something that twisted at Yuu's gut. Jesse was upset with him, his face told him everything he needed to know.

For a moment, Yuu floundered with his words, unable to think up some kind of excuse. There really wasn't an excuse, he realized. He had put them in danger by not speaking up. Now he was going to have to tell Jesse the whole story and admit to being wrong, and take whatever consequences came his way.

Somehow that thought was almost as scary as the sniper outside.

"I have no excuse for it," Yuu said somberly as he looked away from Jesse, "I…you were happy here. I didn't want to ruin that." An explanation, not an excuse. Or so Yuu told himself.

It did make Jesse's anger soften up, though. "Sweetpea…" Jesse reached up with a hand to cup the side of Yuu's face, turning it back towards him. "I'm only happy because I'm with you. This place, it's nice and all, but it ain't what makes me happy. Hell, we could be hidin' in a ditch somewhere and I'd still be alright with it. But if you ain't there too, then I don't wanna be there."

Yuu swore he felt his heart melt right then and there. Even though he was angry, he still managed to say such sweet things. And they weren't just empty platitudes, Yuu could tell that. Jesse honestly cared. "Jesse, I…" 

Another burst of gunfire rang out from the rooftop nearby, snapping Yuu out of the moment. They really didn't have time for this, they needed to move. "We need to go," he said suddenly, "We don't have much time."

A frown set into Jesse's face again, but this one was more determined than angry. Yuu agreed with the sentiment behind it, too. They were going to get out of there alive and come back to this discussion later. Yuu was sure of it.

He had to be sure of it. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to Jesse.


	12. 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING: this chapter contains brief mentions of torture (in the form of a flashback) and a mental breakdown.

They had decided to travel separately to the car, to hopefully throw off any pursuers. The sniper—Widowmaker, or so Jesse had told him—probably had backup. And even then, if they both stuck together, they made for an easy target. It was far safer for them to travel separately and make two targets rather than one.

The anxiety was bubbling up in Yuu's chest, but he forced it down. He needed to keep moving. The sooner he met up with Jesse, the faster they could get out of Las Vegas.

The gunshots had drawn the attention of the police, and squad cars were everywhere as pedestrians were urged inside. It was a tough task to shut down the strip, but with an active shooter out and no sign of where she was, they had to play it safe. Yuu had to keep to the shadows too, lest the police assume he was involved too.

Down an alley he went, ducking behind a trash can as two people moved past the entryway. A third was following them, but stopped right in Yuu's line of sight. He wore all black tactical gear, and initially Yuu thought he was a SWAT officer, but then the man held a finger up to the device in his ear as he said, "No sign of Dragon. We're moving further out."

Talon. He was sure of it.

In a moment of inspiration, Yuu jumped out and grabbed the man, dragging him into the alley. A short struggle later, and there was a body tucked in the trash can and an earpiece in Yuu's ear. There. At least them he could monitor the situation as he made his escape.

The channel was busy with the noise of dozens of men and women checking in, all reporting their statuses. Thankfully, they all seemed to be the same message: no sign of them. He and Jesse were out of sight for the time being. They had a chance still. 

Yuu booked it out of the alley, heading away from the bustle of the strip. He was going to head back around in a loop, getting to the garage in a longer path. He kept his attention on the earpiece, though, listening for any sign that something was up. More check-ins rang out through his ear, but then eventually the line fell quiet. When he noticed the quiet, Yuu ducked down another alley to hide and listen in. Had one of them been found?

"Agent 14324, report."

The line was quiet. Was that the man Yuu had knocked out?

"Agent 14324, what is your status?"

Still no answer. Shit. They were bound to know something was up.

"All agents, the line has been compromised. Prepare for re-integration."

That didn't sound good. Yuu raised his left hand to the earpiece, ready to rip it out and keep moving. He didn't really need to listen in to their channel to sneak around. It wasn't actually as much of a help as he thought, since the agents weren't calling out their locations anyway. It was almost as if someone else was controlling their every move-

_That noise. There was that noise again. The shrill, high-pitched one, the one he was all too familiar with._

_And then the pain started. The searing hot pain, all over his body. God it hurt so bad, he struggled against his bonds, but he couldn't get out. He never could. The only way to stop the pain was to comply._

_Knives dug into his skin. Needles injected white-hot pain into his very veins. Claws dug at him, vices clamed down on him. It was all done in the name of pain, in the name of making him suffer_

_It hurt. It hurt so much he couldn't think. He had to forget. He had to forget everything, or else he would remember the pain. Forget it all, and it would stop._

The screeching from the earpiece could still be heard distantly as the earpiece fell to the ground, bouncing against the pavement. Yuu let out a shuddering gasp as he fell back against the nearby wall. What had just happened? Was that…another memory?

Yuu glanced down at his left arm. The power of his dragons was there, swirling under the skin. Keeping him safe, he reasoned. They must have come back to him when the noise had started. Had they protected him from that noise?

His head hurt, but he had to collect his thoughts. "My name is Yuu," he said quietly to himself between heavy breaths, "That is not my real name. It is temporary, until I find out who I am. I came here with Jesse to find answers. It is…"

He trailed off there. What day was it? How long had he been traveling with Jesse? It felt like a while, but he couldn't put a number to it. Why had they started traveling together in the first place? "He…he saved me," Yuu said, struggling to reach back into his memories. The fog, which had been waning, was back just as strong as ever. It had encroached over the last few months, he was sure of it. There were patches of time he just could not recall, no matter how much he thought about it. Stronger memories remained, but most of them…

"We- we met his family," Yuu said, trying to fight back the tears as he gripped the sides of his head with his hands, "Rosa, Maria, the children-" He could not recall their names. He knew they existed, and that there were many children but their actual forms were shadows in his mind.

Tears started trailing down his cheeks. "We went to Roswell, and he bought me that ridiculous shirt-" He couldn't remember why it was ridiculous. It said something, some stupid joke, but the actual words were lost to him.

"We kissed. On the balcony, that one night. We kissed, and…" Had anything more happened? He remembered the first kiss, and the second, but then…

His voice started to crack. "It…we…"

"It's painful, isn't it?"

Yuu's head snapped up. He looked to the end of the alley, where a woman was standing. A woman with red hair, wearing a doctor's coat. She was tall, and she had a smug look on her face. 

Something about her made Yuu feel panicked. He wanted to run, to just bolt down the alley and escape, but his legs were like jelly. He wasn't going anywhere. 

The woman took a step forward. "Memories are a hinderance. They tie you to a past, make you weak. We had this talk before, Dragon. You do not recall it, I am sure, but we did. Your past is a heavy one. One that prevented you from taking part in our glorious work."

"Who are you," Yuu asked hoarsely. 

The woman chuckled. "A friend," she said lightly, "A friend you came to in your time of need, when the memories became too much. Guilt was eating you alive, as I am sure it is now. You were a broken man, Dragon. A broken man in need of a change."

The woman let out a soft 'tsk' noise before she continued. "I truly am sorry. We did not expect Deadeye to show up at the base in the middle of our procedure. With proper protection, we may have been able to stop him."

"Deadeye…?"

The woman held up her fingers and began to count. "Widowmaker. Reaper. Grimm. Deadeye. Vulture." She closed her hand once more after that and started counting again. "Sharkbite. Dragon. Talon's greatest achievements. Did he forget to mention that to you? Or perhaps he left it out on purpose, hmm?"

Yuu could feel the bile rising in his throat. Jesse...this couldn't be real. This woman, she had to be lying. Jesse would have told him about it, he would have seen the mark-

Reaper's mark—EX-02—had been on his left arm, Yuu realized with a jolt of horror. Yuu had a tattoo on his left arm, one that would have made that mark impossible to see. What if he was the exception to the rule? What if Jesse had been marked on his left arm, and when he had lost it…

_"It's really easy to fake an identity through the NIS. They didn't keep track of how many NIS IDs they gave out, so it's easy to slip one into the system every now and then."_

_"A man on the run like me needs a new name every now and then. I can't go around as 'Jesse McCree' all the time."_

"You are realizing your situation now, I take it?" The woman's smile was a dangerous one, too sharp for Yuu's liking. But with everything he had just learned was too much. He couldn't process it all, his brain was reeling.

"You're lying." In one swift movement, Yuu forced himself away from the wall and he grabbed his bow off of his shoulder. Within a second he had an arrow on the string, pointed right at this woman. The woman did not even flinch. "You're lying!"

Then he noticed the men. There were at least a dozen Talon agents lurking in the shadows behind this woman, ready to act if he actually shot. Even if he stopped this woman, he wouldn't be able to run away from all of these agents. And who knew how many others were hiding on rooftops, behind him, and in nearby buildings?

He was trapped. 

The woman merely extended her hand to Yuu, much like a mother would do to offer comfort to a child. "I know it hurts. Memories are a terrible thing to have. Let me help you, Dragon. I can make it all better again."

Yuu's resolve wavered, and his bow dipped slightly. It did hurt. It hurt so badly, and Yuu wanted it gone. He was so _tired_ , he didn't want to hurt anymore. Remembering, it really hurt him.

But remembering wasn't all pain, was it? The dinner, surrounded by laughing children and that sense of 'home', that was good. And the memory of his baby brother, sleeping peacefully while his mother spoke to him, that was good. Then there were all the memories of Jesse, of his laugh, his rich voice, the way he seemed to put Yuu at peace.

The way his eyes had twinkled during the bonfire.

The way they had kissed on the balcony, bathed in the light of the city.

Energy crackled down Yuu's arm. This time he knew exactly what to do with it.

Yuu raised the bow once more, aiming directly at the woman. His left arm glowed, energy pouring out of his grip and into his bow, to the arrow that was there. 

"I refuse your offer."

He let the arrow loose, and two enormous, roaring dragons followed it down the alley.

\---

Two days later, Jesse and Yuu were parked at a gas station. Jesse had the car plugged in to one of the fuel pumps, and they were just waiting for the batteries to charge up. They had another five minutes or so before it was done, and they could be on their way. Tennessee wasn't too far from here, and though there had been no sign of Talon forces following them, neither man wanted to relax yet.

"We'll be there soon," Jesse said, probably meant to reassure Yuu, "My old buddy, they know we're comin'. They've got the safehouse set up for us already. We'll just lay low there for a week or two, and we can go from there."

"Mmm." It was a noise of noncommittal from Yuu. Proof that he had heard Jesse, but a sign that he did not want to continue the conversation. He had a lot on his mind, after all, and it was hard to break their peace to talk about troubling things.

Jesse frowned, and he left his place near the battery line to go around the car to where Yuu was. "C'mon," he said, nudging at Yuu's hand with his own, "What's got you in such a funk? I already told ya, the stuff in Vegas is water under the bridge."

"That's not it," Yuu said. He hesitated there, unwilling to say more at first, but then Jesse moved to lace his fingers with Yuu's and that hesitation was quickly forgotten.

"What is it, then?"

Yuu stood there for a moment, reveling in the feel of Jesse's flesh hand against his own. But before too long, he let go of that hand, moving to take Jesse's mechanical arm in both of his own. He brushed over the forearm gently with a thumb, right over where the mirror to Yuu's mark would have been had the arm been real. 'EX-04'. He could almost picture it in his mind.

By the time he looked up to meet Jesse's gaze, Yuu's face was set into a sad frown. Jesse was tense, he could tell something was wrong, and maybe the movement had given away Yuu's question. But still, he pressed forward. He had to ask. He had to know.

"The stories, your life…how much of it was fake?"

Yuu saw a myriad of emotions whip across Jesse's face in rapid succession. Surprise. Shock. Fear. Sadness. Resignation. Understanding. No words were spoken then, but Yuu could tell it already: Jesse knew what Yuu was referring to, and the woman hadn't been lying to him.

"Well…" It was almost funny, how Jesse was the one to hesitate when he was put on the spot. "I guess…I was lucky. They hadn't gotten too far with me when the cavalry came in to rescue me. The stuff I told you before—my name, my life at the orphanage, me being in Overwatch—that was all true."

Jesse gave Yuu an uneasy smile. "I guess I was eager to share it, that's all. When you've had half of your life ripped away from you, you keep repeatin' the other half so you don't lose that too."

Yuu couldn't help but smile at that admission. Yes, he understood that all too well. "Tell me about it," he said.

The battery timer dinged, and Jesse sighed as he pulled away from Yuu. "We've got a long road ahead of us. I suppose a few more stories along the way couldn't hurt. It's good to remember that kinda stuff anyway."

"Agreed," Yuu said warmly. He didn't know where this path was going to take him, or if his memories would ever fully return. But that was alright, he decided. He could make new memories from here on out. He had quite the companion to help him make those memories, after all. He wasn't that old yet, he could make a new life like this.

He could remember Jesse McCree, the man who had saved him and given him this second chance. He would never throw those memories away willingly. And in turn, all he could ask of Jesse was one simple thing: don't forget this either. Don't fall into the hands of Talon and lose all of this.

_'I'll remember you, if you remember me.'_


	13. epilogue

**Two years later**

"I dunno, Yuu. It's been years. They might not even remember who I am."

"If they sent you the recall message, then they remember you."

"I'm gettin' kinda old to play hero again."

"Hush. You are not _that_ old. If I can stay in shape, then so can you."

"I think they might like you as an agent more than me."

"Well I am better-suited for the work, I suppose…"

"Hey! You're supposed to tell me I'm handsome and strong and totally fit for it!"

Yuu chuckled as he reached over to pat Jesse on his cheek. "All this time, and you still have the same insecurities." He leaned in and kissed Jesse on the other cheek, a quick peck meant to be reassuring more than anything. "It will be fine. They will welcome you back, and I will get to hear all about the mischief you got into back in the old days of Overwatch."

"Yeah, I'm sure Genji has tons of stories for you," Jesse said with a chuckle, "Best friends always rat out their buddies to their boyfriends."

"Hmph. If you survived the prodding of your family, then you will survive this." Yuu glanced out to the road again. They had been waiting at the airport for nearly twenty minutes now. When was their ride going to show up? "Your friend seems to be tardy, though."

"If you ask him, he'll say he's 'fashionably late,'" Jesse responded.

"Well I am sure he has his reasons."

"Yeah, probably." 

Yuu wasn't satisfied with the answer, though. Jesse seemed…distracted. And not in a good way. "Are you worried about what he might say about my dragons," he asked carefully. It was something they had discussed several times since the recall had gone out. It was their chance to finally meet Genji and possibly get some answers. It was their first real chance at finding out just who Yuu had been before his memories had been taken away.

Things could change dramatically, and soon. Yuu wouldn't blame Jesse for being nervous.

"Nah, not really," Jesse said as he scratched at the back of his neck, "I know you. Whatever we find out, it don't change who you are."

"But you are still worried," Yuu said.

"…alright, yeah, a little." Jesse sighed. "I just…I don't wanna lose you. These past few years, they've been great. Probably the best I've ever had. And I don't want that to end just because we find out some things."

"Jesse…"

Yuu took Jesse's hand into his own, and he gave it a gentle squeeze. "Regardless of who I was before, I know who I am now. The past is just that: the past. What matters is what we do now."

That managed to draw a small, warm smile out of Jesse, who squeezed Yuu's hand back in return. "Yeah, I know…"

A car pulled up, and both men looked up. An omnic climbed out of the car, and Yuu was ready to dismiss that as for someone else, but then Jesse said, "Oh hey, there he is now!" 

Yuu raised an eyebrow curiously. "You didn't mention that your friend was an omnic."

"Nah, he ain't. It's a long story, I'll explain later." Jesse raised an arm up to wave to the not-an-omnic as he shouted out, "Hey Genji, over here!"

The man—Genji—perked up when he heard Jesse's voice. After a quick look in their direction, Genji headed over to them, calling out, "Sorry we were late! Angela had some trouble finding the way to the pickup-"

But as he reached Jesse and Yuu, he suddenly stopped in place, his sentence dying off. It was hard to tell, since the mask over his face covered up his expression, but with how rigid his body had gone it was like Genji had seen a ghost. Yuu glanced to Jesse, who just shrugged in return before saying, "Somethin' wrong?"

Genji only said one word in response, but that one word changed _everything_. 

" **Hanzo?!** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
